Spice i2i (M09.SG) +4.0% at $0.130 in above-average volume; stock enjoying 4th session of gains (which breaks losing run since Nov. 18) after it announced the acquisition of NewTel Corp., the second largest local branded handset player in Thailand on Dec. 6.
“It may be early days yet, but the charts show a pickup in volume and the recent news flow on acquisitions show they’re broadening their business after their rights issue,” says a trader at a local house.
NEW ALBUM OUT NOW ON ITUNES; NATIONAL RELEASE ON JANUARY 1, 2011
 Elephant Revival |
Nederland, Colorado transcendental folk group Elephant Revival releases their second studio album, Break in the
Clouds, today on Ruff Shod Records (the indie label headed by Chad Stokes of State Radio/Dispatch). The
album is produced by David Tiller of Taarka and expands upon the group’s multi-genre musical approach. It is
currently available on itunes for the very special price of $7.99.
To celebrate the release of Break in the Clouds, a series of In-Store performances and meet and greets are
scheduled along the Front Range in Colorado at the end of November and early December. A full national release of
the album is scheduled for January 1, 2011, with upcoming tour dates to be announced.
To download two free tracks from Elephant Revival, click here. See below for more information and dates.
For more information about all upcoming Colorado CD release shows & in store appearances, and to pre-order
Break in the Clouds, visit www.ElephantRevival.com.
Elephant Revival
Tour Dates
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Elephant Revival News
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Elephant Revival
Concert
Reviews
DADU – Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday said the government would not leave the flood affectees alone, vowing to take all-out measures for their rehabilitation. He also asked the chief ministers to improve economic conditions of their provinces.
Gilani has admitted that pace of Watan Cards distribution among the flood victims is slow. He was addressing a big gathering, which was organised in connection with the mass marriage ceremony of flood-affected couples.
The Prime Minister announced Rs 200 million grant for the development projects and rehabilitation of the flood-hit people of two constituencies of National Assembly in Dadu district.
The Prime Minister earlier visited the relief camp at Ustad Bukhari Degree College Dadu and exchanged Eid greetings with the flood victims and distributed Watan Cards among their family heads.
The Prime Minister said besides Rs200 million the government is planning to provide maximum incentives to flood victims so that they could restart their life and overcome the losses.
He said the unprecedented flood had caused heavy losses, however the government is taking various measures for early rehabilitation of the flood-hit people.
The government has started Watan Cards distribution to heads of the flood-affected families so that they could get Rs 100,000 each and restart their normal life, he said and added that Nadra has also been directed to speed up the distribution of the cards.
Gilani said to get Watan Card is the right of flood victims and it should be given to them as soon as possible. He said Nadra officials have been directed to remove all faults in the distribution of the cards. He said most of the flood-affected families suffered less than Rs 100,000 loss, but the government has formed a uniform policy of granting Rs 100,000 compensation to each family head through Watan Cards.
The Prime Minister, who earlier had an aerial view of the flood-affected areas of Dadu, expressed his concern over the devastation caused by the floods and directed the departments concerned to waive off the utility bills in those areas.
He directed the authorities concerned to conduct survey of those areas which were missed out earlier so that the utility bills of those areas could also be waived off.
Referring to Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali ShahÂ’s demand for writing off the agriculture loans in flood affected areas of the province, the Prime Minister assured to consider his proposal.
The government would provide maximum incentives to help people restart their normal lives in the flood-affected areas, he added.
The Prime Minister said the government is providing seeds and fertilizers free of cost to the flood-affected growers, so they could cultivate their agricultural land and improve their socio-economic condition.
On the request of Sindh Chief Minister, the Prime Minister assured to consider additional supply of irrigation water to Sindh province.
He said that remodelling of Dadu district will be made soon.
Prime Minister also met with 300 families who were affected by floods while eight bride and grooms also got married.
Lower costs and newer models help GM to survive in a shrunken market
DAN AKERSON, the boss of General Motors, will be spending plenty of time on the road over the next few days, hoping to persuade sceptical investors to cough up $13 billion in the carmaker’s initial public offering (ipo), expected later in the month. They have plenty of reason to be cautious, considering the hammering that share- and bondholders took during the firm’s two-month dash through the bankruptcy courts last year.
Nevertheless, Mr Akerson, a former telecoms boss, believes he has some strong selling-points. Having run up huge losses during some of the best times America’s auto industry ever had, GM is now showing solid profits in the midst of some of the industry’s worst years. On November 10th GM said it had made $2 billion between July and September—its third quarterly profit in a row—in a market that is struggling to reach annual sales of 11.5m, about 6m below its peak in the mid-2000s. Mr Akerson and his management team are suggesting that if sales continue to recover GM might be capable of annual pre-tax profits of up to $19 billion. Even if they do not reach previous peaks, the radical shake-up of GM imposed by its bankruptcy plan was designed to ensure that it stays in the black even at the Depression-era levels to which sales recently fell. …
BRING GOOD FOOD TO A GOOD CAUSE
Conscious Alliance will be hosting a food drive on October 9th at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield Colorado at the Fourmile Canyon Revival featuring the String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Drew Emmitt & Vince Herman, and the members of Phish [see details here]. All food donations collected will benefit the Boulder Community Food Share. Patrons that donate 10 non-perishable food items will receive a free limited-edition poster by Richard Biffle!
The Conscious Alliance always encourages food donations to be low-sodium and health oriented products. “Organic” food donations are especially encouraged. RAMEN NOODLES will NOT be accepted for the free poster.
You can also help Conscious Alliance feed those in need by texting “ARTFEEDS” to 85944.
FOLKS IN COLORADO NEED HELP
AND THESE FINE MUSICIANS ANSWER THE CALL
 String Cheese |
The Fourmile Canyon Revival is a concert to benefit the Boulder Mountain Fire Relief Fund taking place Saturday, October 9, at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. This unprecedented night of music will feature Colorado’s own The String Cheese Incident, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Yonder Mountain String Band, Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt of Leftover Salmon, along with very special guests Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell and Trey Anastasio.
The Fourmile Canyon Revival is designed to raise funds for individuals and families directly affected by the devastating Fourmile Fire near Boulder, CO. Tickets go on sale next Tuesday, September 21, at 10 am MDT at www.tickethorse.com. The night of the event doors open at 5:00pm and the show begins at 6:00 pm.
“It’s been humbling to see the generosity and immediate response of these amazing musicians. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said KBCO Program Director Scott Arbough.
All proceeds from the concert will go directly to the Boulder Mountain Fire Relief Fund. The Fund supports the local volunteer fire departments that courageously fought the recent fire and the mountain residents whose lives were directly impacted by this disaster and are in critical need of financial support.
More Info
ALL SEATS GENERAL ADMISSION, 4 Ticket Limit
TICKETS ARE $60 INCLUSIVE OF SERVICE CHARGE
TICKETS ONLY SOLD ONLINE AND NOT AVAILABLE AT ANY OUTLETS
ALL TICKETS SOLD ONLINE AT WWW.TICKETHORSE.COM, AND WILL BE NON TRANSFERABLE PAPERLESS TICKETS.
TICKETS FOR THIS EVENT WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT ANY OTHER TICKET OUTLET LOCATIONS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO KIOSKS AT THE PEPSI CENTER, DICK’S SPORTING GOODS PARK, AND 1STBANK CENTER.
A LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP SUITE PACKAGES WILL BE AVAILABLE; FOR INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT: 1STBANKCENTER@AEGLIVE.COM
ALL AGES WELCOME
Alfa Romeo’s cars have not always lived up to its stellar brand. That is changing
IN 1995 Alfa Romeo ignominiously pulled out of America, having managed to sell only 400 cars there that year. Yet this month the sporting Italian marque, which is celebrating its centenary, was the star of the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, a show for classic and concept cars. Alfa brought over seven cars from its museum in Milan, but none of its current offerings. It is testimony to the enduring power of a brand that has a wonderful history but which for many years has over-promised and under-delivered. There are signs, however, that this may be changing.
Last year even Sergio Marchionne, the boss of Fiat, which owns Alfa, seemed to be running out of patience. Mr Marchionne had set Alfa a target to reach sales of 300,000 cars a year by 2010, but in 2009 it sold barely 100,000. In December he ordered a review of Alfa’s operations, which according to Max Warburton of Bernstein Research were losing up to $575m a year. …
Rafael Benitez insists Liverpool will not suffer a Champions League hangover when they return to European duty at Anfield today in the unfamiliar context of the Europa League. In normal circumstances, Benitez would have been preparing his side for a Champions League encounter this week but their
Nokia, Samsung and LG led a global handset market that boasted positive growth for the first quarter since Q3 2008. LG and Samsung shipped record numbers, and Nokia, Motorola and even Sony Ericsson again had their chins up.
– Global handset shipments reached 324 million units in the fourth
quarter of 2009, showing a 10 percent increase over shipments from a
year ago and the first quarter of positive growth since the third
quarter of 2008, according to a Jan. 29 report from Strategy Analytics.
The positive growth…
PESHAWAR – Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has announced that the federal government would bear all the expenses of reconstruction and rehabilitation carried out in the terrorism-affected areas of NWFP along with tribal regions of the country.
He said that Rs. 50 billion have been allocated for the capacity building of NWFP and wherever needed the funds would be provided.
In his address to the office bearers of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), local traders and media persons here at the Chief MinisterÂ’s House here on Thursday, Gilani also announced waiving off loans of small farmers hailing from Malakand division that amount up to Rs 2.66 billion and announced a special package for the development of industrial estates in the province.
Governor NWFP Owais Ahmad Ghani, Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Federal Minister Najm-ud-Din Khan, Speaker NWFP Assembly Kiramatullah Khan, senior provincial ministers, members NWFP Cabinet and some of the members of the provincial assembly were also present on the occasion.
The Prime Minister that the first category areas of terror-hit areas in this regard include localities that have been hit worst by militancy, which comprise seven tribal agencies and 11 districts in NWFP namely Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Aurakzai, Kurram, South Waziristan, North Waziristan Agencies as well Malakand Agency and districts of Swat, Bunir, Shangla, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Hangu, Bannu, Tank, Kohat and Chitral.
Category two includes seven districts including Peshawar, Charsadda, Dera Ismail Khan, Battagram, Lakki Marwat, Mardan and Swabi. Category three comprises five districts of NWFP including Nowshera, Harripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, and district Kohistan, the Prime Minister informed.
Regarding the power scarcity, the Prime Minister said that the matter could not be resolved in a short time and needed an effective strategy. If a short-term plan was made in this regard, it would take three years whereas a medium-term plan would take about ten years to solve the problem of electricity shortage in the country, he added.
He said that Rs 17.12 billion have been released for making good of the losses occurred to Malakand division in the wake of militancy.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani continued saying that tax payers of those areas included in category one and two have been extended the facility under which if they pay their due taxes including customs duty and central excise duty till 30th June 2010 then their surcharges and fines would be forgiven. Likewise all the utility bills of Malakand region were waived off from the month of May to that of December 2009. The Prime Minister said that already Rs 56 million has been announced by his Government for the affectees of Meena Bazaar blast in Peshawar and announced rupees 5 crore for ‘Shuhada trust’ as well, apart from announcing the initiation of construction of CRC canal in Dera Ismail Khan.
Yusuf Raza Gilani further said that masses have elected him for the term of five years and that constitutional tenure would be completed by his Government. He said that the he was sensitive to the fact that the country was passing through a time of trial and added that all the political parties of the country were taken into confidence whether they are within or outside the Parliament, in any decision taken by the Government.
He said that along with NWFP his Government took the decision with unity of purpose that if military action was taken, the entire nation would be behind it and it is now evident that all the nation was with NWFP though, earlier, hesitation had prevailed about whether steps should be taken against terrorism or not but now everybody including civil society were united against terrorism and militancy.
He said that it was but one of the credit of the current coalition Government that today the nation was united and in one say against terrorism and that the military action against terrorism was supported by the whole nation. The world was expressing its surprise over the successes of Pakistan against terrorism, added the Prime Minister, and continued that we told the world that 3.5 million Afghan refugees had come to Pakistan and they are still here in the country but the people of NWFP were hospitable by every mean that they also open their doors for serving their suffering brethrens from Swat and Malakand region.
The Prime Minister further said that Pakistan was a front line state in fight against terrorism while NWFP was a front line province in this regard and that said that we salute those people, leadership, police, frontier constabulary, traders that rendered sacrifices in the wake.
He said that though there was a global financial crunch, his Government sailed well and put the country out of economic crisis and said that it was but a better planning of the Government that every task was carried out with satisfaction even amidst the war against terrorism that was costing billions of rupees.
He said that the issue of net hydel profit of NWFP was resolved in his tenure, NFC award was unanimously announced that were the example of political understandings that could not be yielded by any dictatorship and were the gifts of democracy to the country.
Prime Minister claimed saying that nothing was done in the previous regime regarding coming across the power shortage and no new project in this regard was started either, saying that his Government was determined to remove both the problems of shortage of electricity and gas shortage and added that to address the shortage of water, work on construction of dams was also started.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President
Barack Obama on Tuesday took note of the new opportunities offered by
their economies and their respective strengths, and their potential
for future growth to catalyze global economic growth, and pledged to
create conditions that would facilitate their continued expansion.
In a joint statement issued at the White House here after one-to-one
and delegation-level meetings, [...]
Words & Images by: Stratton Lawrence
FloydFest 8: Revival :: 07.23.09 – 07.26.09 :: Blue Cow Pavilion :: Floyd, VA
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Fancy Gap. Meadows of Dan. Rolling up the Blue Ridge Parkway to FloydFest, even the names of towns ease one into a more simple time and place. Cell phones stop working long before we arrive, and weaving through lush, narrow hollows, the road is wet from a just-passed rain cloud. Turning a corner, one catches a first glimpse of the idyllic ridgeline and valley adorned with wooden stages and all manner of art, fancy and merriment as the sun shines brightly down on a perfect mid-70 degree afternoon. FloydFest’s magic is evident before even stepping through the front gate.
Thursday, 07.24
After catching a moment of The Old Ceremony‘s opening set, Nathan Moore‘s solo set was first on the official agenda. Moore wittily sang about wanting to be the next Abbie Hoffman and how to “survive some grizzly summer learning which berries are safe to eat.” The songwriter only learned that he was part of FloydFest’s “Emerging Artist” competition as he took the stage. “If anyone needs ice or their tent set up after the show, just call me gopher,” he joked. “I’ll draw the line, but not where you think I would.” Moore’s style, reminiscent of Greg Brown, worked well with tales like the time he spotted Drew Emmitt on the street, then ran alongside him, singing. The weekend’s first magical moment came when a particularly stiff breeze rustled the grass and trees behind the stage just as Moore sang about “each way the wild wind blows.”
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Emmitt himself, along with Billy Nershi and band, provided the evening’s next highlight with a set that peaked during a tremendous cover of Dylan’s “The Mighty Quinn.” The two veterans showed off the instincts that set them above the pack, masterfully handing off the solos to the next player in line. Dressed in a psychedelic purple shirt and gold Mardi Gras beads, Emmitt was clearly having a ball. The band ended the show by inviting Jason Hann on stage for a song by bassist Tyler Grant (the 2008 National Flatpicking Guitar Champion), before a rollicking “Restless Wind.” About midway through the show, a woman in the front row offered up a bottle of tequila to Nershi, but it was snatched away by security as he leaned forward to take it. After the show, Michael Kang emerged from the side-stage, smiling big as he handed Billy the bottle.
For those String Cheese Incident fans hoping for some collaborative work between the members present at FloydFest, Thursday may have been a disappointment. Panjea, Kang’s post-SCI project, entertained with their worldly funk grooves, but the music never came close to the epic peaks of String Cheese lore. Nershi watched from the side, but never joined them on stage.
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It’s obviously difficult to be the frontman in a band where you’re not the biggest name, but Panjea’s lead vocalist Chris Berry becomes borderline obnoxious at times. The songs’ messages were poignant (“Why do we kill people who kill people to show people that killing people is wrong?”) but the over-the-top dancing and frantic jumping between congas and the microphone by Berry was distracting and may actually hold the very capable band (Kang and Berry plus sax, bass, drums) from reaching musical points they otherwise might reach.
The night ended with a third String Cheese offshoot, EOTO on the Hill Holler Stage. Billy Nershi sat on the grass near the back and watched, and the dichotomy between his epic acoustic build-ups and the monotonous, electronic ramblings of EOTO was striking. Nershi said that SCI loved playing together at Rothbury and that he believes it’ll happen again before too long. “We talked about it and understand that we all need to give each other latitude to explore our own pursuits on stage,” he said.
Walking back to camp, a meteor shower decorated the night sky, ripping across the intensely bright Milky Way. Witnessing three String Cheese products in a row proved insightful. Despite all the skills Kang, Hann and Michael Travis possess, Emmitt-Nershi Band sounded the most like a real band, utilizing all their members and together taking the sound to exciting places.
Continue reading for Friday’s coverage of FloydFest…
Friday, 07.24
Friday, in order of the significant memories…
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Is any band more qualified to pull off a cover of “White Rabbit” than Grace Potter and the Nocturnals? Potter’s voice is simply unreal, much like the Grace that originally sang about that strange bunny. After an intensely rocking, tight set, during which Potter floated from the piano to the mic to a Flying V guitar, the “one more” encore stretched into five songs, including a goose-bump inducing solo rendition of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” and the aforementioned “White Rabbit.”
Potter’s set could not have been more perfectly placed, lighting up the festival with an over-the-top rock show that followed nearly two hours of festival-wide power outage. The lights and sound died at sunset, just as Toubab Krewe was kicking off their Hill Holler Stage show. Toubab compensated with a 30-minute drum session, and many late arriving folks were none the wiser about the power situation.
When the lights didn’t come back up, however, the buzz passed around about whether we’d hear any more electric music that night. It likely wouldn’t have mattered, as bands festival wide grabbed their gear and set up acoustic shows across the main field. Boulder Acoustic Society perhaps benefited most, turning their scheduled beer garden set into an intimate, sing-along affair lit by torches. Out in the field, crowds gathered around the Holy Ghost Tent Revival and The Smart Brothers as they busked in the grass.
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After leaving the stage to wait for the power to return, Toubab eventually reemerged in the dark. Flashlights from the crowd illuminated them as Jamaican legend Earl “Chinna” Smith joined them for a long medley of percussion and reggae standards including “Kaya.”
If the power had never returned, festival-goers would have been hard-pressed to complain about the sheer magnitude of the music that preceded the outage during the daytime. Last year’s emerging artist contest winners, William Walter & Co., absolutely raged on the Hill Holler Stage early in the afternoon, including a super-funky rendition of “Chameleon” by the relatively acoustic band.
Holy Ghost Tent Revival’s 3 p.m. set at the beer garden had a crowd dancing like it was twelve hours later, banging their heads to banjo and trombone through one fast song and epic ending after another. Holy Ghost’s keyboard player Mike O’Malley seems to have really found his place in the band, and it’s hard to imagine them without him now.
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For those lucky enough to stumble upon it or already be in the know, Forro in the Dark‘s Workshop Porch set of flute-led Brazilian rumba was phenomenal. The band played seated in a line. Back on the main stage, The Duhks precisely delivered jig and fiddle songs, changing time signatures seamlessly. They are undoubtedly one of the smoothest, tightest acoustic bands playing today.
The early evening hosted a two-genre dance party as The Belleville Outfit entertained an enthusiastic swing-dancing crowd at the dance tent, while Grupo Fantasma‘s 11-piece (including three percussionists) Latin/mambo ensemble had a huge crowd doing the rumba. The grooving beats of “Arroz con Frijoles” segued well into the drum-show of Toubab, as the power died soon after Fantasma wrapped up their show.
If there was a regret on Friday, it was having put my camera away before the Yard Dogs Road Show at 11 p.m. The band (dance troupe? acting ensemble?) is a creative spectacle, complete with sword swallowing, burlesque ladies and Mexican standoffs. Our brains fried by the insanity of it all, we stopped by the Village Stage to shake it with Forro in the Dark once more before heading to camp.
Continue reading for Saturday’s coverage of FloydFest…
Saturday, 07.25
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“We usually start at 10 p.m.,” said a groggy-looking Samantha Crain to her late Saturday morning audience. “We had to be here at 10 a.m. I’ll try to wake-up.” She did and woke us up as well with her spunky acoustic rock & roll. Like MerleFest and LEAF, an early slot at Floyd isn’t a lousy gig for the bands – the fans are there for music as early as it starts.
By noon, Saturday reached full-party mode, with Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas urging the main stage audience to “Take off your shoes, because I’m gonna sock it to ya!”
After a quick listen to local hip-hop/funk combo Blount Harvey, the day’s first big dose of excitement came during Yarn‘s set in the beer garden. The band sounds more like Oxford, MS than their hometown of Brooklyn, NY. In song after song, impeccable harmonies gave way to epic build-ups that took flight behind Kang-esque electric mandolin. In the early afternoon on the festival’s smallest stage, the sound Yarn gave their audience could have filled an arena.
Ollabelle, the project of Levon Helm’s daughter Amy Helm, was a bit of a disappointment after Yarn’s soaring spectacle. The band sounded best on covers like “Long Black Veil” and “Corrina, Corrina,” but their energy seemed low and better fit for a smaller venue then their main stage slot.
We soon headed back to the beer garden for Sol Driven Train. The Charleston, SC group played heavy on the horns for what was likely the weekend’s most crowded show in the beer garden, highlighted by a rollicking version of Paul Simon’s “Late in the Evening” and a group drum jam.
Rain clouds approached across the mountains as the day progressed, seemingly playing to a perfect Donna the Buffalo setlist. The deluge began halfway through “40 Days and 40 Nights,” followed by a perfect “Mystic Water.” Although Donna’s set was fairly standard, the rain and subsequent rainbow made the show magical. Tara Nevins led off “Blue Skies” just as the sun peaked back through, destined to remain out the rest of the day.
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Saturday’s champions were The Felice Brothers, who ripped the Hill Holler Stage apart like the barn they were apparently raised in. From knocking over drum sets to showering the crowd with water, if the faux-country band can keep up their New York redneck energy as their fame grows they’ll have lasting power. The festival set featured favorites like “Run Chicken Run” and “Penn Station,” which made the crowd scream for more. The Brothers might have obliged them had the drums not been in disarray from fiddler Greg Farley tackling them head first to close the set.
With Toubab’s Friday show cut short by the power outage, the band came out Saturday ready to impress. With very little speaking or intentional stage presence, Justin Perkins focused on the guitar over the kora, almost sounding like Dick Dale at times. Favorite moments included bass player David Pransky donning a wild four-foot-tall hat made of balloons and the tune “Nirvana the Buffalo,” fitting for a set that followed Donna’s show on the same stage.
Although some questioned Blues Traveler as a suitable major festival headliner in the year 2009, the band proved on Saturday night that they’ve still got their H.O.R.D.E. tour chops. All of John Popper‘s past dramas haven’t affected his harp playing, and while “Run Around” and “Hook” came off tired, “But Anyway” sounded good as new. Popper brought out Survivorman‘s Les Stroud to jam with him, and the outdoor badass/TV star showed up and held his own with America’s most famous harmonica player in one of the weekend’s most anticipated (and downright cool) moments.
Three days in, we danced as hard as we could to The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker before crashing hard.
Continue reading for Sunday’s coverage of FloydFest…
Sunday, 07.26
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Sunday began slumped in a chair for some hair-of-the-dog with Adrienne Young‘s soothing voice and banjo playing. The casual, unpretentious bluegrass of her band, The Old Faithful, was perfect for the blustery, sunny Sunday morning.
The wind soon blew in more rain, forcing The Horse Flies off stage and sending much of the crowd running for shelter from the deluge. Fortunately, the Flies and the audience returned within the hour. The Ithaca, NY band plays ancient instruments, from a rough-looking banjo/ukulele to a vintage fiddle. Highlighted by “Last Train to Rajastan,” their show took acoustic music and dipped it in pure psychedelic syrup. It’s a wild ride.
Peter Rowan commenced the final hours at Floyd, clearly having fun throughout yodel improvisations and a tongue-in-cheek gospel tune that announced, “We’re chopping down the trees for Jesus.” He later told us, “This is the most fun we’ve had all summer,” and it seemed like the truth.
After packing up, we stuck around briefly for Railroad Earth, a perfect close to an idyllic weekend.
FloydFest manages to pull off a large-tier festival (15,000 through the gates was the estimate) while maintaining a small-fest vibe. From the first songs to the last, there’s never a moment when there isn’t world-class music being performed, including when the entire festival’s power dies. The bands just grab their instruments and take to the field, while the audience gathers around. Like so many of the bands that played over the four days, young and veteran, if FloydFest can maintain its character as it continues to grow it’s inspiring to think of what awaits us in years to come.
Continue reading for a few more pics of FloydFest…
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JamBase | Land of the Lovers
Go See Live Music!
What was known as history’s fertile crescent, where lush farmland and abundant water gave rise to civilisation, is today a dusty desert where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers crawl sluggishly toward the sea. Vast tracts of Iraqi farmland are cracked and barren, precious marshes have dried up
A CRY FROM THE STREETS AS THE SIXTIES TURNED TO THE SEVENTIES
Throughout the remainder of 2009, Sunday Spin will regularly celebrate and explore some of the seminal albums released in 1969 as they reach their 40th anniversaries. We couldn’t think of a better slab to start withÂ…
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Some folks are born wise, and John Fogerty is surely one of them. Two years on from the Summer of Love, Fogerty could see which way the wind was blowing, his young ears able to “hear the voice of rage and ruin.” The Vietnam War shuddered a half a world away, entering U.S. living rooms every night on the news, while corporate culture had already absorbed the trappings of the ’60s youth revolution, diluting a legitimate social movement into a series of largely empty, marketable symbols (“”Is that a real poncho? I mean is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?”). Fogerty picked up on this sharp dip in general hope, addressing the nostalgia already settling into America’s mindset – not just for some fictitious bygone time but for what had transpired only recently – a dynamic that persists in even more pronounced form today. The first words of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s third album, Green River are, “Well, take me back down where cool water flows/ Let me remember things I love.” From there he swiftly introduces us to the hangman’s rope and announces, “You’re gonna find the world is smould’rin’.”
CCR’s second album in a year that would ultimately see them release three classics is a sharp shock to the system. For all of its ’50s inspired bounce, the waters in their river are cloudy and tangled with weeds and bodies. Like the bluesmen and folk heroes that fueled Fogerty’s pen, his songs here invite mindless sing-alongs, seeming jubilant yet ever-touched by something far darker. The quintessential example in the Creedence catalog is “Bad Moon Rising, ” which has been reduced to a backdrop for film and television, just another piece of the general cultural landscape, but is nothing less than a scathing gospel warning, barking, “Hope you got your things together/ Hope you are quite prepared to die/ Looks like we’re in for nasty weather/ One eye is taken for an eye.” Creedence isn’t screwing around on this album, and as baldly enjoyable as the music is (and it is a freakin’ ball that’ll have you smacking the ceiling of your hoopdie like El Duderino) this is largely serious business, as heavy and truthful as Robert Johnson, Leadbelly or Bob Dylan.
It does not hurt that the band is ablaze on every cut. The myth goes that this is John’s show and the rest are merely players, but no matter the brilliance of the playwright you’re going to have an empty house if there’s no one there to execute the script. Stu Cook (bass), Doug Clifford (drums) and John’s brother Tom Fogerty (rhythm guitar) are jook joint mean and Hamburg underground tight, a party band extraordinaire with steam rising from their pores. John Fogerty’s lead guitar and ruthless lead vocals are indeed the sharp point of their phalanx but the muscle behind it comes from Tom, Stu and Doug. The sad evidence of this is how none of them ever again achieved a fraction of the mojo harnessed during CCR’s five-year existence. Green River presents the combo at their most cohesive, where each aspect feeds the others to create one of the most appealing, robust sounds in the history of rock. The conversation between instruments generates a density and immediacy that defies age – a model for anyone seeking a “timeless” quality to their music.
And oh what tunes! The proto-punk of “Commotion,” the bent knee cry for connectivity in “Wrote A Song For Everyone,” the gleeful foreboding of “Tombstone Shadow,” the ennui and impotence of “Lodi,” the urge for going inside “Cross-Tie Walker” and the shiver-inducing prognostication of “Bad Moon Rising” and “Sinister Purpose” – each number a lustily attacked marvel that culminates in a “Fuck it, let’s party” vibe with a cover of jump blues standard “The Night Time Is The Right Time.” Throwing jagged stones at “pharaohs” and the self-deluded, this song cycle is simultaneously delightful and harrowing. In sequencing, execution and insight, Green River is a tough one to beat in any era, even one as rich as the late 1960s.
Track Listing
Side One
1. Green River
2. Commotion
3. Tombstone Shadow
4. Wrote a Song for Everyone
Side Two
1. Bad Moon Rising
2. Lodi
3. Cross-Tie Walker
4. Sinister Purpose
5. The Night Time Is the Right Time
Do yourself a favor and check out Letters to Fogerty by the wonderful John Moe. You can thank us later when you stop laughing.
This nasty lil’ tune nicely captures the hurly-burly of modern life in under three minutes.
Death songs have a long, grand tradition and this is up there with the best of them.
During their 1999 tour this was a Pavement staple, just one example of this album’s far reaching influence.
Here’s John Fogerty getting “stuck” all by his lonesome.
A clearly stoned Mama Cass introduces “Clarence Clamwater.” JamBase would like to dedicate this one to our pal Nathan Moore (he knows why…). Play it loud and long as we all try to find our way back to the river.
And lastly, the title tune.
Drew Emmitt, Bill Nershi & Michael Kang 
Michael Kang 
Les Stroud & John Popper – Blues Traveler 
Grace Potter 
Veggie Food 
Boulder Acoustic Society 
Yard Dogs Road Shows by Ryan Snyder 
Donna The Buffalo 
The Duhks 
Grupo Fantasma 
Sol Driven Train 
Drew Heller – Toubab Krewe 
William Walter & Co. 
Yarn 
Railroad Earth
A revolution is being knitted
Tactile and egalitarian, nourishing and slow, arts and crafts are enjoying a deserved revival in our recession-hit society
At Prick Your Finger, a wool shop in east London’s Bethnal Green, Rachael Matthews is spinning a rolag of cashmere and alpaca, her right leg drawing rhythmic cadences from the wooden wheel’s foot pedal. In tandem, her friend and business partner Louise Harries inventories their selection of nationally sourced yarns, from a high lustre Wensleydale to a tender Shetland. In the corner, a crocheted porcupine sports knitting-needle quills. Big jars of buttons wink on the shelf, while rainbow ribbons cascade from a drawer.
This cosy establishment is the net-based Cast Off Knitting Club made mortar, offering a sheep-to-shoulder service for those who are as exercised by the provenance of their wool as the tension on their purl row. Cast Off, with its commitment to design beyond the ribbed tank-top and guerrilla knitting tactics in pubs and clubs, was at the vanguard of the craft’s recent revival. But it is emblematic of a broader do-it-yourself movement, from window-box salads to car-boot sale recycling, which is recruiting the most unlikely advocates.
This week, the thinktank Demos published a collection of essays exploring the idea of “expressive life”. In the volume, US arts writer Bill Ivey – who coined the phrase – and Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, tease out the prospect of a rebirth of the arts and crafts movement as part of the search for quality of life in a post-consumerist, recession-hit society.
At a moment when laid-off bankers are testifying to the benefits of basket-weaving, a reversion to the reformist aesthetic of John Ruskin and William Morris can feel suitably corrective. The old manifesto has serious contemporary traction: respect for nature, dignity of labour, importance of long-garnered skills, access to beauty for all.
The reasons for this resurgence are not hard to fathom: we are producers frustrated with never seeing the end product of our efforts; consumers weary of being bullied into buying stuff we don’t need, that is badly made or doesn’t fit; and would-be creators waking up to the fact that inspiration exists beyond the Sunday style supplements.
Plus, craft is a slow pursuit. It takes many evenings to sew a tapestry or knit a jumper. As the author Nick Laird observed about the immediacy of the internet age: “Concentration proves hard to come by in a space where the vaguest thought, whim or wonder can be indulged or resolved in an instant.” But you cannot Twitter a cushion cover.
Likewise, while it is a meditation, craft can be a highly social pursuit when our networks feel all too electronic. And for many, thrift is a necessity as much as an ideological position – though anyone who has bought wool or fabric lately will know that the craft economy can be as extortionate as any other.
There is, inevitably, more than a whiff of nostalgia surrounding this renaissance. But bountiful craft is no guarantee of moral purity. As the craft historian Glenn Adamson observes, German National Socialists were particularly enamoured with the patriotic impact and authenticity of craftwork.
As revolutionarily socialist as it strove to be, the arts and crafts movement was riddled with inconsistency. Morris wrestled with the paradox of insisting on art for all while championing creations so labour-intensive they could only be afforded by the few (not to mention the paternalism that dictated the lackadaisical poor could be rescued from the pub by the intervention of cane-weaving).
It’s ironic that, as amateur craft surges, the professional sector faces a skills crisis, with courses in such disciplines as ceramics, glass and metalwork closing down. Although the craft industry contributes more to the economy than the visual arts, cultural heritage or literature sectors, and demand for craft skills has never been higher, it remains the Cinderella order of the arts world.
But if craft is, as Richard Sennett argues in his 2008 book The Craftsman, the doing of good work for its own sake, if competence and engagement are the most solid sources of adult self-respect, then the ethic of this industry is as relevant as ever. A recession invites fundamental reassessment of the place of work – and leisure – in our lives. Practically, this means recognising that teaching a tradable, portable skill is one of the best ways to lift people out of poverty. Philosophically, it invites an acceptance that a trade-off between hamster-wheel presenteeism and mollifying consumption has never been good for us and is not feasible in this economic climate.
Crucially, craft is egalitarian. While some in the Labour party appear bent on resuscitating the canard of meritocracy, which divides the gifted few from the unexceptional mass, craft reminds us of the significance of equality of outcome, rather than of opportunity. Everyone shares the capacity to develop a skill, based on decent teaching, application and time – not raw talent.
Back at Prick Your Finger, the bobbin is growing fat with yarn. People talk about a “comeback”, says Rachael; but really, craft never went away. “Craft skills are in our DNA. But we still have to practise our dexterity.”