Wasabi 01/23/94 DAUD (FLAC, MP3, STREAM):
Wasabi was one of the better Blues Traveler side projects of all-time. The band consisted of members of Blues Traveler, the Spin Doctors, The Authority, and the Blues Co-elation horns. John Popper was usually found on vocals, with Joan Osborne replacing the big man when he was on tour. The show featured here is from early 1994, a time which saw all of those bands finding commercial success. Wasabi would usually have to announce their shows a day or two before the gig in order to keep the crowds manageable.
This show from Port Chester starts with a tasty 20-minute improvisation that sets a jammy tone for the evening. John Popper and Eric Schenkman take turns trading riffs and solos throughout the night. If your looking for Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong and But Anyway, keep looking, this show is just amazing musicians getting their jam on. When Popper and Rene Lopez do sing, it’s mostly improvised lyrics sung over a made-up-on-the-spot chord structure. The New York City jam scene was filled with amazing performers in the early ’90s, and this Wasabi gig shows that those guys had big-time chops.
Medeski, Martin, and Wood 10/31/2002 SBD/AUD MATRIX (FLAC):
Medeski, Martin, and Wood played an incredible show at the Hammerstein Ballroom to celebrate Halloween in 2002. Luckily for us some kind-hearted taper has uploaded an incredible sounding matrix. MMW used every trick in their repertoire to entertain the crowd throughout this show. The band comes out with two sizzling improv jams that combine a spacey sound with the grooves we all know and love. After 25 minutes of improv, MMW drops The Dropper without missing a beat.
Everything about this bootleg is great. The sound is incredible — hell, this could be a live album. All the special guest sit-ins were ridiculous, and the setlist has a nice mix of the old and the new. Old school fans will love the Dracula, while there are plenty of tracks from Uninvisible to keep the newbs satiated.
Things really start to take off in the second and third sets. The second set features a smokin’ sit-in by former Beck guitarist Smokey Hormel. Hormel adds great tones and riffs to both Partido Alto and Pappy Check. For the third set, MMW was joined by The Uninvisible Horns of New York, led by Steven Bernstein [no relation]. The I Want To Ride You encore with the horns is so incredibly best. After listening to this show, I’m really bummed I decided to see another band that evening. Oh well, at least we get to listen to this ridiculous sounding recording.
320kbps MP3: Set 1, Set 2, Set 3
It’s been a few months since the popular rock band Phish has graced this column, and there is no better show to come back with than Old Orchard Beach ’94. In the summer of 1994 Phish played a concert at an old minor-league ballpark in Southern Maine. Nearly all the shows from July ’94 are worth downloading, but OOB ’94 has that extra panache. Everything came together on a beautiful summer night in New England.
There are many highlights from this flawless show. If I had to choose a couple I’d pick the incredible versions of Split Open and Melt and Run Like An Antelope. The Split jam is just dag nasty with the band all combining forces for a jam on Jimi Hendrix’s Third Stone From The Sun. Run Like An Antelope starts out normally enough, until the beginning of the improv section. Just as the band starts melting faces fireworks erupt in the background. This show took place the day before July 4th, so the band gave the crowd a little holiday treat in the form of a fireworks show. The blasts get more intense as the band picks up the tempo ending with a mighty crescendo of both the fireworks and the jam.
I’ve been hearing about this show since the summer it happened. It’s terrific to be able to listen to the tapes to understand the majesty of Old Orchard Beach ’94. Sadly The Ballpark at Old Orchard Beach is currently sitting in ruin.
What’s playing on your iPod this week? Let us know by leaving a comment…
3 Responses
Clutch….can’t wait to listen to this legendary MMW show.
thanks so much for the MMW Matrix! where the fruck has that thing been hiding all this time?
one week til the Howlin Wolf in NOLA. also get two WEEN shows in one week.
pray for me.
Oh so close, yet so far away. I attended this Phish show at the Ballpark (or Seapac, or whatever name it went by that summer) oh so many moons ago and have been hoping to find it for download for about a year or so. You must have just killed the links as the files appear to be gone.
Any chance you might repost?
One bit about the show: I’m not a big Phish fan, but this was a great experience — my only Phish show. My ticket was given free to me by a friend trying to convert me. I must say, I was convinced. The fireworks thing was amazing. Other factors might have been in play, but I vividly recall that the spiralling guitar-play by the band was in time with the rhythm of the explosions. Like I said … maybe other factors were in play, but that’s the way it seemed to me.
A great show … and all within a 20 minute bikeride of my house. I didn’t bike … but I should have.