Jam fans are pretty lucky in that their favorite bands change up the setlist from night to night. AC/DC fans aren’t so lucky. The Australian natives’ Black Ice tour has gone around the world and back with the band playing the same exact set night in and night out to the dismay of their hardcore fans.
A group of AC/DC fans want them to bust out some rarities & have issued a formal complaint against the band to try to get them to mix it up. I’m just surprised the band doesn’t get bored playing the same show every night.
Here’s a look at six other stories of interest…
Finally, we were very surprised to hear that the Derek Trucks Band is going on hiatus next year. As you may recall, the Allman Brothers Band coaxed Trucks into a full year of touring with them by saying they’d take it easy next year allowing Trucks to devote ‘10 to his solo band. We wonder whether the Allman Brothers Band will reconsider slowing down next year or if Trucks has something completely different up his sleeves.
On an evening when the attention of an entire city - and most of the Northeast - was turned to a small baseball game in the Bronx, jamband veterans Blues Traveler returned home to The Filmore New York at Irving Plaza for the first time in over a year. For over two hours, the band treated the packed house to classic covers, special guests, and their own hit singles.
Mixing Sublime’s, What I’ve Got and Cheap Trick’s, I Want You to Want Me, with Hook, The Mountains Win Again, and of course everyone’s favorite, Run-Around, John Popper invited old friends Jamie McLean to the stage for Mulling It Over (just weeks after his sit in at Sullivan Hall with former Spin Doctors lead Chris Barron) and the lovely Falu to join in on The Path.
With the evening winding down and news of the World Series victory spreading through the crowd, John and bassist Tad Kinchla (in an appropriately attired in a Yankee cap) began the encore with a Led Zepplin tease into a “Let’s Go Yankees” chant, before finishing up with Forever Owed and But Anyway and releasing the delirious crowd into the crisp night.
Set: How You Remember It> What’s For Breakfast, Girl Inside My Head> Slow Change, What I Got> Mulling It Over*, You, Me & Everything> NY Prophesies, The Mountains Win Again, The Beacons> I Want You To Want Me, Carolina Blues, Look Around, The Path**, Just For Me, Nail> Hook, Dropping Some NYC> Crash Burn> Dropping Some NYC, Run-Around
Encore: Forever Owed, But Anyway
* with Jamie McLean on guitar
** with Falu on vocals
READ ON for more of Jeremy’s Traveler photos…
Being the live music junkie that I am, I have been subjected to some surprises over the years. Some were more than welcomed surprises, like this one time back in ‘77 or ‘78. I had to meet some guy named Boris (don’t ask) at a bar in Manhattan called Traxx. There was a trio playing on a small stage, killer rockabilly. Skinny, no shirts, a guitar bigger than the player. Upright bass and standup drummer playing a pretty austere kit. The Stray Cats were playing that night. Lucky Break.
Another time I won tickets to see The Tubes from a local radio station. The show was in a small club in downtown Portland. About halfway through the first song I noticed that it was not Fee Waybill behind the oversized shades, but a Waybill-wanna-be. Bad surprise. Glad I didn’t spend money for those seats.
There was another time the surprise just made me a tad less than comfortable. Sitting in the third row for the Mark Farner Band I was all set for a night of Grand Funk Classics, of which there were plenty. But, after opening with a few early ’70s gems, Farner said he wanted to show us where he had been for the last few years. What followed was about an hour of Christian church songs with a boogie beat, I mean Onward Christian Soldier kind of stuff. Well played, good music and all, plus I got my Grand Funk fix before the night was through, but just not how I expected it. I suppose the Mark Farner Ministries t-shirts I saw in the front row should have been a dead giveaway.
Those surprises came years ago, before the internet really, which dates them back far enough. Nowadays with the sweep of a mouse you can find out everything you want about a touring act in a matter of minutes. When I heard that Loggins & Messina were coming to town I did a little research before shelling out the ducats. I found a lot of raves about their 2005 Sittin’ In Again tour, but very little about their current outing. Just like with movies sometimes, no previews may be a bad sign.
READ ON for more from AJ on Loggins and Messina…
Actor Christopher Walken does his best Lady Gaga impression…
Christopher Walken - Poker Face
The Pixies kicked off another reunion tour in Hollywood on Wednesday night and will be Conan O’Brien’s musical guest this evening on The Tonight Show. The seminal band has dusted off a number of b-sides for their current tour and will perform 1989’s Doolittle in its entirety at each show.
Friday, November 6 [all times Eastern]:
- David Letterman: Ralph Stanley [CBS 11:35PM]
- Conan O’Brien: The Pixies [NBC 11:35PM]
- Jimmy Kimmel: Chickenfoot [ABC Midnight]
- Carson Daly: Peaches [NBC 1:35AM]
Saturday, November 7:
- Austin City Limits: Elvis Costello [PBS Check Local Listings]
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Live in LA [Palladia 11AM]
- Storytellers: Pearl Jam [Palladia 4PM]
- Saturday Night Live: Taylor Swift [NBC 11:30PM]
Sunday, November 8:
- AC/DC: Live From Circus Krone [VH1C Noon]
- Classic Albums: Def Leppard - Hysteria [VH1C 2PM]
- Spectacle w/ Elvis Costello: The Police [Sundance 5PM]
- Bruce Springsteen: Live in New York City [VH1C 11PM]
More than Zappa’s Joe’s Garage. More than Centerfield. More than the Indiana Jones Theme Song. More than AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. More than even Glen Miller’s In the Mood. If I ever got the once in a lifetime chance to request a single song for Phish to cover, there currently exists one song that I would rather hear over any other song. It’s called Indoda Yejazi Elimnyama by Amaswazi Emvelo and comes from a ridiculously good recording called The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, Vol. 1.
I suspect a lot of folks probably already know the story of the Indestructible Beat, but it’s essentially a collection of South African mbaqanga music compiled by a pair of visionary ex-pats named Trevor Herman and Jumbo Van Renan in 1985.
Within seconds of listening to any number of its songs, the aircraft carrier-wide influence of this music becomes painstakingly obvious. With Graceland released just one subsequent year later, Paul Simon typically takes credit as the most famous alum of the School of the Beat, but other graduates who borrow influence from this album include the heavyweight likes of David Byrne and Peter Gabriel. More recently, the wildly popular upstart Vampire Weekend even referred to their own sound as “Upper West Side Soweto.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
READ ON for more on this incredible compilation…
Words: Tim Hara
Images: Matt Speck
Everyone inside the Auditorium Theatre knew that they were in for a special night. It was the first time that Philadelphia’s Disco Biscuits were playing a Halloween show in Chicago. This was a big deal.
The venue was absolutely stunning - an old opera house that has been open for almost 120 years. Huge murals are painted on the walls that are surrounded by intricate, ornamental carvings. The sound is loud and crisp and there are great sightlines from virtually every seat in the house. There are multiple balconies with the highest one making the performers look like ants on stage. No fans ventured that high unless they wanted to. The orchestra level and first balcony were completely filled with kids in their wildest costumes. They anxiously awaited what tricks and treats the Disco Biscuits had up their sleeves for the night.
After Holy F*ck and The Glitch Mob opened things up with some early dance parties, the Biscuits took the stage dressed as “classy zombies,” with their costumes complete with suits and lots of fake blood. As they looked out over the crowd, it seemed as though even they were amazed that they were playing in such an awesome venue. The group opened the show with a stand-alone instrumental, Strobelights and Martinis, which seemed very appropriate with its dark theme. This version was solid, but straightforward without much of a jam.
READ ON for more from the Disco Biscuits’ Halloween show…
There hasn’t been much to cheer for if you’ve been a fan of the New York Knickerbockers over the last decade or so. While the once mighty franchise has struggled, there is now a reason to watch them - for the beginning of their on Friday night games on MSG at least - as they will feature a new song and video from Robert Randolph & The Family Band. The song, called Get There, features personalized lyrics about New York and the Knicks from Randolph who’s been a lifelong fan of the team. While we’re not too sure how good the Knicks will fare, we’ll put our money down that the song will be a lot better than Go New York, Go New York Go.
Finally, while everything was coming up The Beatles this September - between the long awaited remasters and video game - the Fab Four’s catalog was still missing from digital retailers. Well, in a step that might signify that they will soon be headed in that direction Apple Corps. and EMI will release a limited edition USB drive featuring the entire Beatles in Stereo remastered set as 320 Kbps MP3s on December 8th. All 14 albums and 13 “mini-documentaries” will be included on the 16GB USB drive, which will be shaped like the iconic Apple logo with “The Beatles” written on it with only 30,000 of them to be produced. Very cool concept.
