“Not only am I going back on tour, but we’re going to Massachusetts and Rhode Island and Pennsylvania and North Carolina and Indiana, and then we’re going to Michigan and Illinois and Minnesota…and then we’re going back to Vermont to re-form the popular rock band Phish! Byaaah!!!” –Page McConnell, 3/30/07

The Chairman of the Boards has announced a full set of tour dates, piggybacking on today’s streaming show on NPR for WXPN’s World Cafe Series and next week’s Gramercy Theater show that Scotty and I will be reviewing for the blog (an HT interview with Leo has also been penciled into Page’s schedule).

Here’s the full set of tour dates from Page’s new website (it’s so nice):

05/30 – Higher Ground, Burlington, VT
05/31 – Avalon, Boston, MA
06/01 – Lupos, Providence, RI
06/02 – Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
06/04 – Irving Plaza, New York, NY
06/05 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
06/07 – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
06/08 – The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
06/09 – Bogarts, Cincinnati, OH
06/10 – The Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
06/12 – Majestic, Detroit, MI
06/13 – The Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
06/14 – Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN

Page’s band includes Adam Zimmon, Jared Slomoff, Rob O’Dea, and Gabe Jarrett. Tickets will be available through a real time presale beginning Friday, March 30th at 5:00pm (EST) and ending Friday, April 13th at noon (EST) at http://pagetickets.rlc.net./. The presale ends on April 12th for a select number of shows, so please check each date’s individual ticketing info.

Damn, this guy Page is really gettin’ himself back into the news cycle after one of the more extensive hibernations outside of the mouse lemur and European hedgehog families. Way to get back out there, buddy.

• Download today’s debut right here (full track list after the jump)

Get your prog rockin’ untz untz shoes on: Umphrey’s McGee and the Disco Biscuits have combined forces to stage the Transgression Festival in Copper Mountain, Colorado on July 14th and 15th. Tickets for the D.U.M.B festival go onsale at the headiest of heady times: 4:20pm on April 20th. Both Umphrey’s and the Biscuits will also play pre-party shows in Colorado the night before the fest.

The two bands have a history of sharing the stage together, tracing back to Jon Gutwillig’s sit-in with Umphrey’s during a show in July 2002. Then on last year’s Jamcruise, members of both bands formed the Beatles/Pink Floyd cover band Brain Damaged Eggmen (BDE also played a solid gig at Chicago’s Vic Theater during the 2006 Lollapalooza festival). Hopefully the boys will give us all some Eggmen action during this D.U.M.B. festival.

Stay tuned to HT for more details including the announcement additional acts…

• Previously on Hidden Track: Ryan Stasik Loves His Pirates and The Disco Biscuits Drop The Hammer

This week’s mix is a selection of increasingly crazy jazz, with piano, ostensibly at least, as the principal performer.

The first cut is from Venezuelan pianist Edward Simon’s Unicity, which is more of a duo-with-guest than a solo event. Simon’s partner is bassist John Patitucci, the support coming from drummer Brian Blade. Patitucci has writing credits on many of the songs, including this one, The Messenger, and his interaction with the others is natural and clean. Both he and Blade are part of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, although the drumming genius is reserved on this cut, showing off none of his pyrotechnic skills. The second track is from Bill Evans’ North Sea Jazz Festival performance in 1970, a killer cover of Miles Davis’ Nardis taken from an obscure compilation called Live at the Festival. Speaking of great drummers, Tony Oxley is just fantastic on this, energetic throughout, just waiting for a monster final solo. His response during Eddie Gomez’s solo is also worth extra attention.

From MMW’s summer ’06 acoustic shows, the third song is 7 Deadlies. Medeski is stunning right off the bat, and from there it’s MMW doing what they do best. A particularly nice segment pops up about eight and half minutes in, leading to the final drum solo. This week’s mix closes with Nina Simone’s God God God from a 1983 show released on Live at Ronnie Scott’s. It speaks entirely for itself. Enjoy!

• Click here to download this week’s Friday Mix Tape

Page McConnell returns to the stage at noon today to perform a set for WXPN’s World Cafe series. I saw McConnell’s set at moe.down in August and had my interest piqued, but I wasn’t immediately drawn in by the tunes. Some of them have that post-Coventry gloom-and-doom feel, which I just don’t need to hear about anymore.

That being said, I recently received a copy of Page’s self-titled album and it flat out rocks. Songs such as Heavy Rotation and Back In The Basement are long and jammed out bolstered by the bass playing of Mike Gordon. Page uses a vast array of keyboards, pianos, and synthesizers to create a plethera of amazing sounds throughout the release. I think the awesomeness of this album will catch many fans by surprise.

Look for more about the album and the music soon, as both Ace and I will be attending McConnell’s showcase gig on Wednesday.

• The Allman Brothers Band has announced a new archival release featuring the original lineup
• Lou Reed will perform at the opening of the Highline Ballroom
• Crazy Amy Winehouse is my type of girl
• Geddy Lee of Rush talks fantasy baseball
• Neddy takes a look back at his experience at a Panic show ten years ago
• Vusi Mahlasela sings for change
• Sellaband has an interesting approach to marketing records
• Another sign that Rock and Roll is back: the new Modest Mouse record debuts at #1
• The Police announce plans to document their upcoming tour
• Save money with iTunes new complete my album feature
• Live Earth is looking for an American venue — may I suggest Shea Stadium?
• The top ten songs about trains
• Jack White will play Elvis Presley in a new movie
• Another summer means another Dave Matthews Band tour
• Check out the trailer for Neil Young’s Archives Volume 1: 1963-1972 box set
• Mooney Suzuki will be returning with a new album entitled Have Mercy
• The Langerado posts continue…check out this awesome recap of the Little Festival That Could from Kitsch Dork

I hope to see either the Allmans or Railroad Earth this weekend. Youseto?

I missed it. We all missed it. Unless you were there. In that case, you didn’t miss it, and from all accounts, you may not have a face anymore.

Thanks to this entity called “work,” I was stuck in our nation’s capital as Warren Haynes trotted out a smorgasbord of talent at Irving Plaza for his special Evil Teen Re-launch all-star jam last night. As we had hoped, and as we had feared (because, again, we missed it), the Allman Brothers played two songs on their off night from the Beacon, and Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Edwin McCain and the remainder of Gov’t Mule all showed up to rock the smallish house.

Our friend Jon Hochstat says it was so hot he’s “at a loss for words,” and he was kind enough to pass along the already uploaded torrent. Click here to download this memorable and obviously epic show that I fucking missed.

And read on for the full setlist from the evening…

In the most exciting baseball/music collaboration since MTV’s Rock n’ Jock, Hidden Track is kicking off our preview of the 2007 Major League Baseball season today. Over the first six months of our existence we have stayed completely focused on music. But Ace and I are just such big baseball fans that we wanted to tie our two passions together in an interesting way.

We have talked to a number of your favorite musicians about their love for America’s Pastime, and over the next few weeks we will bring you their thoughts on the upcoming season. And at the All-Star break and at the end of the season we will check back with these guys to see how things have turned out.

Today we start with an essay on being a Pirate fan by Umphrey’s McGee bassist Ryan Stasik. Stasik grew up as a diehard Pirate and Steeler fan in Pittsburgh. Here’s Ryan’s take on his beloved and dreadful Bucs prospects for 2007…

Where to begin is the question when you have witnessed every season go under .500 since the days of Bonds (beat it), Bonilla, and my hero Andy Van Slyke in 1992. Well, let’s start with hope since we finished the second half of the ’06 season over .500 and out of the cellar in the NL Central by a game to the Cubs. What a day it is to brag about your team being better than the Cubs!

Here we are again ready for a new season and living in Chicago I am able to breathe that hope in the air for those dreadfully cursed Cubs and their fans, yet I am a realist and know both our teams will blow it! The Pirates by playing like a high school team bountiful of errors and mental mistakes, and the Cubs by injuries and long lasting slumps.

Read on for Ryan’s full preview of the Pirates upcoming season…

Earlier this week we announced the return of music’s biggest dork: Phil Lesh has been nursed back to health and he’ll play two shows at SOB’s in New York. But who will be Phil’s friends for this homestand?

We got a clue today: It may be Big Red. One of Trey Anastasio’s backup singers announced on her MySpace page that she’ll be playing the Phil shows. Here’s the latest from Christina Durfee’s MySpace:

Christina will perform two very special intimate shows with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh at SOB’s in New York City on Monday, April 9th and Tuesday, April 10th. Tickets are limited so be sure to visit Phillesh.net for complete show information!

Make it happen, Red, make it happen. I want another They Love Each Other. And, frankly, I want it right now.

Update: Our sources inside Crimson Dego’s camp tell us that there will be NO Trey at this show…but we’re keeping it up as a rumor because, hey, you never know.

Asheville, North Carolina city councilman Carl Mumpower was granted free access to Friday night’s RatDog concert, and he shared some astute observations with the city manager. Kick down to get down, Mummers.

Gary,

I went to the civic center this evening and spent about 15 minutes inside with the intention of observing the reported drug activity that occurs at some concert events. I wanted to share my brief observations-

1) Thomas Wolfe auditorium smelled like an Amsterdam hash bar.

2) In the bathroom I observed a gentleman purchase pills and ingest same from another gentleman with a T-Shirt that said something like “I play for mushrooms.”

3) I observed one person in the back balcony smoking a joint and a group of people sharing a joint on the left side of the auditorium.

4) The music “Ratdog” was good.

5) When I arrived at the civic center there were 6-8 officers standing in the front of the building. Most were in uniform.

I would appreciate the opportunity to sit down with to discuss drug enforcement policies for Civic Center events.

Thank you,

Carl Mumpower

I’d love to hear some stories about “Hot” Carl’s experiences at the Amsterdam hash bar he felt the venue resembled. Hey, at least the music “Ratdog” was good.

(Thanks to Glider and Deputy Girardin for sending this our way)

Want some Canadian lovin’ in your Minnesota summer? The 10,000 Lakes Festival today announced the addition of some more bands to the lineup, including our northern neighbor’s heroes, The Tragically Hip. Hosers.

I led with that because I’m a raving Canadaphile, but perhaps the biggest addition of the day, sure to please all the yanks in the house: Zappa Plays Zappa. I caught their inaugural set at the Jammys this year, and while it was only a shortened taste of what Dweezil & Co. would unleash on the unsuspecting masses, I’d call this Tour de Frank stop a must-watch for the 10KLF faithful. St. Alphonzo’s Pancakes will be served…

Here’s the full list of today’s official additions:

The Tragically Hip
Zappa Plays Zappa
Particle (untz, untz, untz, untz)
Blueground Undergrass
Outformation
The Lee Boys
Big Organ Trio
That 1 Guy

This year’s 10,000 Lakes Festival lineup already features Bob Weir & RatDog, Trey Anastasio, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey’s McGee, moe., Keller Williams, Gov’t Mule, Little Feat, The Derek Trucks Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Everyone Orchestra, Trampled By Turtles, Pnuma Trio, God Johnson, GypsyFoot, Bump, Mr. Blotto, WookieFoot, The Burnin’ Smyrnans, The Heavy Pets, and Moses Mayes.

• Previously on Hidden Track: 10KLF Adds Some Untz Untz; 3 AM Eternal in Minnesota

I must admit up top, Jupiter One doesn’t exactly jive with the rest of the music we regularly feature on this here blog. Nonetheless, tonight at the Mercury Lounge this five-piece “well-designed rock” band with a bunch of catchy tunes will, as they like to say, “hit hard enough to move asses on the dance floor.”

Like a CNBC contributor, I’m gonna throw out some full disclosure here: One of my oldest friends manages these guys. But that doesn’t change the fact that tonight’s a great night to get all hot and sweaty in the confines of a Houston Street establishment while listening to some sweet shit. Get down there and take it in…

• Check out some of Jupiter One’s catalog on MySpace

January and February are typically off months for live music. Gig news flies fast and furious, but there isn’t much in the way of actual music. March, on the other hand, has been filled to the brim with great tunes like motherfuckin’ Maxwell House.

This week’s edition of Grousing The Aisles looks at four stellar shows from the month of March, three of which took place this past weekend.

JJ Grey and MOFRO 03/23/07 DAUD (FLAC, MP3, STREAM):

At Langerado Ace and I finally had a chance to talk to J.J. Grey about his decision to change the name of the band to J.J. Grey and Mofro. After seeing their set at Langerado and listening to this show from Denver’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, it’s pretty clear how personal these songs are to Grey.

Songs like How Junior Got His Head Put Out, War, and Country Ghetto crackle with emotion that reaches deep within the listener. I feel bad now that I thought he just changed the name of the band to get more notoriety. Um, oops.

But seriously if you haven’t checked out J.J. Grey and Mofro in concert since they put out Country Ghetto, run to the closest show and check out their performance. The addition of a horn section makes all the difference in the world for this band.

Read on for the rest of this week’s Grousing The Aisles…

I’ve seen Tea Leaf Green a few times before, and I’ve always left confused about how people have fallen in love with this band. Sure they know how to rock, but what makes them different than any other jamband? And how come my partner on this here blog won’t shut the fuck up about how they’re the best band on the road?

This past weekend, I finally got what all the fuss is about. I entered the venue with vague thoughts of leaving at setbreak, as I was feeling a tad weary entering the show. But from the opening notes of Taught To Be Proud through the third encore of AC/DC’s Have A Drink On Me, the members of Tea Leaf Green had the sold-out audience at Irving Plaza wrapped around their collective fingers. Hell, I would have stayed for a third set.

One of the first distinctions I noticed between the Irving gig and some previous TLG shows was the emergence of a powerhouse light show. TLG’s new LD, Alan Sezack, was not only completely in command of the outrageous psychedelic-tinged lights, he also was grooving hard to every note the band was playing. Impressive stuff.

I spoke with drummer Scotty Rager about the shift in the quality of the lights. “I felt a huge difference the first time Alan operated the lights,” he said. “He knows our music so well.” Rager also noted the ancillary benefits of the rockin’ light show: “The audience can trip out to the lights while we jam.” Look for more from Scotty coming soon in the Hidden Track Baseball Preview.

Read on for more from the show and some fantastic photos of the evening from The Coach, one of HT’s best friends, Adam Kaufman…

Tuesday brought 70-degree weather and sunshine to the New York City area, and I think I’m coming to the conclusion that I hate winter. Spring, on the other hand; that’s my jam. Hopefully the weather is nice where you are on this fine hump day. To help you get over that hump, check out these fine links from around the Interwebs:

• The best and worst afros in music today
• The tape-trading culture is not dead
• Tom Morello talks about the Rage Against The Machine rehersals
• Stylus rates the top 50 one-hit wonders
• Frank Zappa’s official site is teasing a new release
• Franz Ferdinand has released an Annual, an old idea that needs a comeback
• It seems like Elton John’s 60th Birthday Concert at Madison Square Garden was quite the affair
• Live Music Blog’s latest podcast features Apollo Sunshine
• This week’s Taper’s Section presents some rare Grateful Dead from the ’80s
• Spoon is preparing a new album for release in July
• Genesis, Ozzy, and Heart will be the subject of the next VH-1 Rock Honors
• We’re jealous: Our friend Jeff at The Passion of the Weiss caught a super-secret Beck show
  
• moe.down 8 is right around the corner
• While you are getting screwed by Ticketmaster, you may as well take advantage of their free iTunes offer

Did I miss anything? Let me know by leaving a comment below…..

You like lists? Here’s a some sick news from the Beastie Boys:

1. we have a new record coming out
2. it’s gonna be sick
3. we’re playing a bunch of shows this summer (see below)
4. they’re gonna be sick
5. we’re gonna play some instrumental only shows also… (you know..drums..bass..guitar..keyboard..percussion..)
6. better call your doctor..cause they’re gonna be sick
7. it’s gonna be a gala event
8. we’re changing up the website…sick
9. got new gear coming soon…again…sick..
10. go see a tailor and get tapered up…

I mean, I just love the phrase “Gala Event.” Sick shit.

Phil Lesh will return to the stage for two shows in what looks to be a good sign that he has put his recent health problems behind him. The former Grateful Dead bass player will play two shows at the tiny S.O.B.’s in New York City on April 9th and 1oth. Currently the band that will play with Lesh is unknown. Does it really matter?

Tickets are currently available through Phil Lesh Ticketing. Clearly these shows will sell out very quickly. For information on the password for the sale go to Phillesh.net and solve the puzzle. We can’t give you any FEEDBACK about the password.

• Phil Lesh on the Live Music Archive