We’re honored to welcome Reuben of Partyin’ Peeps to the Hidden Track team for the occasional post. He’s done a phenomenal job posting interesting news, reviews and opinions on Partyin’ Peeps, so be sure to add his site to your daily reading list. Reuben caught moe. and Keller Williams at the Encore Park Amphitheater in Alpharetta, Georgia on Saturday night and filed this report…

We were greeted by perfect concert weather as we arrived at the brand new Encore Park Amphitheater. This place has everything you could ask for in a live music venue: great sound, a capacity of 12,500, reasonably light security, parking and $5 beers. Did I say $5 beers? I meant $10, but who’s really counting? We bought tickets from the box office when we got there, avoided the outrageous ticketbastard charges, and somehow scored 8th row center!

Keller Williams the one-man-band opened the show, and I have to say, he impressed the hell out of me. The guy really is a perfect opener, something about his eclectic combination of bluegrass, whistling, looping, covers, and all around goofiness really got the crowd excited. The show opened with Heart’s Barracuda and then right into crowd favorites Best Feeling and Fuel for the Road. My favorite part was in the middle of Fuel for the Road when Keller changed the tone of his instruments so they would sound like a piano and a trumpet before looping them together to create a mini little jazz odyssey. Then there was some more goofiness, a new song, a whistling cover of Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough,”and of course, Freaker by the Speaker. I love Keller, but I was ready for some moe.

READ ON to find out what Reuben thought about moe.’s two set show…

Those of us who live in or around New York are in for a special treat this weekend when the Omega Moos make a rare appearance outside of the midwest. The Moos feature Brendan Bayliss and Ryan Stasik of Umphrey’s McGee along with Darren Shearer and Jamie Shields of the New Deal mashing up genres and delivering a non-stop dance party. Tomorrow night the boys bring their unique blend of styles to Water Street Music Hall in Rochester, before heading to New York City for a late-night Rocks Off concert cruise aboard the Temptress on Friday. The mini-tour concludes on Saturday with a show at Revolution Hall in Troy.

Omega Moos (Pete Townshend may NOT be included)

Recently we spoke with Darren Shearer about playin’ with the Moos:

Hidden Track: How did the Moos come together?

Darren Shearer: The Moos came together because of a mutual love of classic rock, as well as a brotherly love for each other as players. Hence, the sorority name “Omega Moos”. I love how Bayliss’s guitar meshes in with our electronic sensibilities; and Stasik, well, he’s the man on the low-end and super-fun to play with. It started out as a bit of a joke, but we’ve definitely forged our own sound since playing together. It is always a blast. Those boys know how to throw down the techniques, for sure.

HT: How do you guys decide which songs to play/cover?

DS: They pretty much comes from the god of Classic rock aficionado-ness, James “Guitar” Shields. And then we get em’ into our hot little hands and remix them up a little in true Omega Moos style. What’s funny is, I think that sometimes the younger audiences don’t know that they’re covers. I wish I could take credit for those melodies!!

HT: Can we expect any new material this run?

DS: Absolutely. A bunch of new songs. We keep the material secret for each run, but let me tell you that memories of the music you were listening to while sitting in the backseat of your mom’s Volvo, on the way to your dentist appointment will be conjured up for sure. All with that New Deal techno twist.

HT: Any plans to record?

DS: Hmmmmm. Not sure, but it would be pretty cool. We also do a large amount of improv stuff, that usually takes on more of an Umphreys flavor, but considering how busy we are and the fact that we live 10 hours away from each other, it might be hard. I’d love to release a live show though!

For a taste of what you can expect from an Omega Moos show be sure to check out the collection of tunes on their MySpace.

• Omega Moos – Masokatanga (Live at the Canopy Club)
• Omega Moos – Double Vision (Live at the Canopy Club)

Kanye West finally has something to say about the debacle that was his Bonnaroo debut, and judging from his comments I wouldn’t expect to him to get an another invite anytime soon. Check out this post from his blog…

I am sick of negative people who just sit around trying 2 plot my downfall… Why???? I understand if people don’t like me because I like me or if people think tight clothes look gay or people say I run my mouth to much, But this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I’ve ever had in my life. This is the most offended I’ve ever been… this is the maddest I ever will be. I’m typing so fucking hard I might break my fucking Mac book Air!!!!!!!! Call me any name you want…. arrogant, conceited, narcissistic, racist, metro, fag whatever you can think of…. BUT NEVER SAY I DIDN’T GIVE MY ALL! NEVER SAY I DIDN’T GIVE MY ALL! THIS SHOWS NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO BE GOOD AT SOMETHING THERE WILL BE PEOPLE THERE TO LIE ABOUT YOU AND BRING YOU DOWN! LIKE WAYNE SAYS PLEASE DON’T SHOOT ME DOWN CAUSE I’M FLYING! I’M FUCKING HURT BY THIS ONE. ALL I CARE ABOUT ARE THE FANS. JUST SAY THIS OUT LOUD IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE, “KANYE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT GIVING A GOOD PERFORMANCE.” CAN ANYONE HONESTLY SAY THAT ????????? HAS ANYONE EVEN TAKEN THE TIME TO AT LEAST DO THE MATH??? BONNAROO SHOULD HAVE RELEASED A STATEMENT IN MY DEFENSE BUT SINCE THEY HAVEN’T LET’S BREAK DOWN THE WALLS ON THIS TRUMAN SHOW AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY OCCURRED!!! FOR OVER A MONTH WE WENT BACK AND FORTH ON WETHER OR NOT WE COULD EVEN FIT MY STAGE AT THE FESTIVAL. ONE DAY THEY WOULD SAY YES… WE’D SEND THEM OUR SPECS THEN THEY THEY’D SAY OK… THEN THEY WOULD SEND SPECS BACK THAT DIDN’T FIT THE STAGE. WE WERE OBVIOUSLY DEALING WITH FUCKING IDIOTS WHO DIDN’T REALLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REALLY PUT ON THIS SHOW PROPERLY. THEY TRIED 2 GIVE ME A TIME SLOT WERE IT WAS STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE … I HAVE A FUCKING LIGHT SHOW DUMB ASS, IT’S NOT CALLED GLOW IN THE DARK FOR NO REASON SQUID BRAINS! MY PEOPLE WORKED OUT A COMPROMISED STAGE PLOT AND A 3AM TIME SLOT AND I AGREED. FAST FOWARD TO THE DAY OF THE SHOW. MY PRODUCTION MANAGER TRIED TO LOAD IN FOR 24 HOURS BEFORE I WENT ON STAGE BUT THE FESTIVAL WOULDN’T ALLOW US TO DO ANYTHING UNTILL PEARL JAM LEFT THE STAGE. PEARL JAM ENDED ONE HOUR
LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT THAT POINT WE’RE RACING AGAINST THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT 4:20AM DON COMES BACK 2 THE BUS AND TELLS ME, ” IT WOULD TAKE 45 MORE MINUTES TO PUT ALL YOUR PYRO IN!” I SAY I HAVE TO GET OUT THERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE . I HIT THE STAGE AND PEOPLE HAD BEEN THROWING SHIT ON THE STAGE …

We know that many of our readers love to take pictures at shows, so perhaps a few of you might be interested in the latest contest from our friends at Jamtopia. Get your best shots together by September 30 and enter the 2008 Jamtopia Concert Photo Contest for a chance to win a Canon PowerShot SD750 Camera. Head over to Jamtopia to find out how to enter, read the official rules, meet the judges and to get some great concert photography tips & advice.

Let’s take a gander at what else is happenin’:

• Beck premieres three brilliant new songs from Modern Guilt on iLike
• List Time: Ten Screaming Guitar-Driven Songs From the Motor City
• The MTV Video Music Awards will return to Los Angeles on Sept. 7
• Brooklyn Vegan shares photos from Gogol Bordello’s gig at the pool
• Greg Kot isn’t impressed by the Felice Brothers’ self-titled 2nd album
• Stereogum’s OldStand dusts off the November 1990 issue of Spin
• Tenacious D will help honor The Who at the VH-1 Rock Honors show

Finally, we’ve been blahging for about 21 months and we’ve never mentioned Usher once. But we couldn’t resist posting this video of the Showbiz Pizza band dropping Love In The Club. Now if we can just get someone to program the animatronics to play along with Zappa’s Dinah-Moe Humm we’ll be in business.

Any savvy concertgoer knows to temper expectations just a bit sometimes, even at the risk of jading. It’s so hard to find (and then bottle) lightning more than a few times a year that those who go looking for it wind up with a merely overcast sky time and time again—a long string of B and B+ shows with the rare A stuck in the days between.

[Photo by Rich Gastwirt via Phillesh.net]

Friends who don’t go to the 100-150 shows I average every year ask if going to so much music desensitizes me, and the answer is yes, of course—to a point. Glass half-full reasoning suggests that if you go to a lot, experience a different variety of all types of venues, styles and groupings, and when something really good happens you get that tingly feeling—the feeling you forgot, as the poet wrote.

In late 2007 the feeling I forgot came to me in an unexpected—but as it turned out, unsurprising—show last year: the final night of Phil Lesh & Friends’ epic 10-night run at the Nokia Theater here in New York. I’d been to the 11/6 show earlier in the week and it was a cursory delight—full of easy-mark crowd-pleasers, a safe level of stretching out, a few moments of A-level PLF work and enough mojo to convince me this fivesome warranted a place with at least the most capable PLF lineups. The final show of the run, however, was a game-changer, with a decently solid first set, a pretty, all-acoustic second set, and a stemwinder of a third set that, to these ears, remains to date the fullest, one-set expression of what this current PLF lineup can accomplish. READ ON for more of Chad’s PLF review…

Two weeks ago we took a look at a few versions of Solsbury Hill and we’ve got a Gold and a Silver medal to give out. The winner, by a landslide, is the a cappella group The Hyannis Sound – congrats guys. Coming in second was my good friends Rane. Sorry about the week off, how you all got by for 14 days without a playlist of covers to sit and judge, I’ll never know.

This week I’m returning to the original band featured in the first ever edition of Cover Wars, one of the most covered bands of all time: The Beatles. We’ve got six versions of Day Tripper here and don’t worry, there isn’t an American Idol clip anywhere near us this time. We’ve got a nice mix of some other artists of the ’60s covering the song while it was still ripe — and of course a few jambands rocking their way through the tune.

To quote Lennon himself from the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon & Yoko Ono,

That’s mine. Including the lick, the guitar break and the whole bit. It’s just a rock ‘n roll song. Day trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But it was kind of-you know, you’re just aw weekend hippie. Get it?

Yep, we get it John. It’s also one of the songs that Lennon & McCartney disagree on the songwriting credits – but hey, all that matters is that it’s a great tune. You’re going to need to register/login to Imeem to hear the tracks in their entirety.

READ ON after the jump for voting, videos and descriptions…

With the July 4th right around the corner, we thought we’d get the HT gang together again to slap a variety of foodstuffs on the grill and throw back some Six Point Hop Obama’s for another edition of At The Barbecue. This time around we figured we’d find out what has been burning up the iPods of our faithful HT Contributors as we approach the mid-way point of 2008.

Much like Fight Club there were no rules – the albums could be something released this year, something you’ve just discovered or an old classic that’s just been getting a lot of play. So sit back and enjoy, the Best Music Of ’08 (So Far)…

Neddy:

Favorite album of the year has to be, no ifs ands or buts, John Zorn’s the Dreamers. You won’t find a more talented ensemble of musicians playing more soul-pleasing compositions in such amazing fashion anywhere else — I gar-uhn-tee. Your favorite genre — be it piano jazz, reverby surf, dirty funk or Lou Reed pop — is reinvented, dissected, exploded, imploded, impregnated and otherwise made to feel welcome in that cozy spot between the tiny hairs inside your ears and the squishy gray stuff beyond. All that and free stickers! Enjoy!

READ ON to see what albums your favorite HT bloggers can’t get enough of…

Galactic isn’t exactly a band known for causing controversy, but their set on Saturday at Norfolk’s Town Point Park ended with a charge of profanity against an artist they invited to sit-in with them. Rapper Boots Riley was ordered off stage and charged with a misdemeanor for using the word “fuck” twice while introducing the members of Galactic. What a fuckin’ crock! [Hat Tip to B. Ferdman]

• Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey’s McGee recalls meeting B.B. King
• Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold performs a cover in a Black Cab
• Vampire Weekend encounters cowboys in the Oxford Comma video
• As always Uncle Neddy lists the NYC shows of the week
• HT Contributor Chad Berndtson interviews Larry Campbell
• Widespread Panic welcomed Solomon Burke for a sit-in
• Throw Me The Statue cover Huey Lewis’ If This Is It
• NYT’s Media Equation looks at why live music thrives while CDs fade

Now that the Summer Festival season is in full effect, it’s time to start looking forward to the Fall Festival season. New Orleans’ Voodoo Experience music festival welcomes R.E.M., NIN, Stone Temple Pilots, Death Cab and a varied assortment of acts from across the dial to the Crescent City on October 24-26.

Summer officially arrived last Friday night around 7:40 or so – don’t ask me how they determine that, it seems kind of arbitrary to me. While you may have already been hard at work preparing your perfect beach music mix, I’ve got one more track for you that needs to be included – it’s bouncy, catchy and mentions ice cream – how much more summery can you get?

The song comes from Thao Nguyen and her fantastically named band the Get Down Stay Down. Check out the video for Bag Of Hammers (which looks like it cost less to make then an episode of Mr. Bill)…

Thao and her band recently wrapped up a tour opening for Rilo Kiley and has already lined up a number of summer dates. Be sure to see ‘em!

I woke up on this gloomy Monday morning here in New York to the sad news that legendary comedian George Carlin had passed away last night at the age of 71. The sharp tongued Carlin was probably most famous for his bit on the Seven Deadly Words You Can Never Say On Television, which lead to a historic Supreme Court Case that ruled his routine to be “indecent, but not obscene” – leading to the establishment of “family hours” for broadcasting such material (and I didn’t even go to law school folks). Let’s check out the routine in his honor…

If there was a Mount Rushmore of comedians Carlin would surely belong up there

More Carlin…

• NY Times Obituary
• Carlin on the Mike Douglas Show 1972
• Carlin Talks About “Stuff”

Last weekend, My Morning Jacket impressed the hell out of the Bonnaroo crowd by bringing out special guests and busting out fun covers over the course of their two set show. On Friday night at Radio City Music Hall the Louisville-based band showed that they could still rock the fuck out of an audience without relying on those gimmicks. My Morning Jacket pulled off a nicely-paced 160 minute set chock full of the finest songs in their catalog, and I loved nearly every minute of it.

[Photo by CSchwa17]

From the moment Jim James took the stage you could sense he fully appreciated his band’s achievement in selling out one of the most famous venues in the world. Remember those cheap old windup toys? It seemed like someone spent an hour winding Jim James up and let him loose. Towards the middle of the show I looked down for a minute and the next thing I knew everyone in the crowd was going ape shit. A friend of mine pointed in the direction of the runway that connects the stage and the balconies, where James was running up and down the aisle ways pausing only to rip memorable solos. What a total Rock God.

Here’s the setlist, including links to YouTubes where available…

Set: Evil Urges, Off The Record, Gideon, I’m Amazed, Highly Suspicious, What a Wonderful Man, Touch Me Part 1, Sec Walkin, Golden, Thank You Too, The Way That He Sings, Two Halves, Phone Went West, Aluminum Park, Steam Engine -> Smokin From Shootin -> Touch Me Part 2, Bermuda Highway@, Librarian, Wordless Chorus, It Beats 4 U, Dondante, The Bear, Lay Low, Run Thru, Anytime, One Big Holiday

I can’t even begin to describe all of the highlights from Friday night’s show, but one moment sticks out from the rest. When MMJ launched into the show-closing One Big Holiday the crowd went absolutely berserk. Men and women, young and old, started jumping up and down singing the lyrics at the top of their lungs. I haven’t seen a band illicit that reaction from their fans since I went to top-40 concerts in middle school. I had a hard time focusing on the band, as I was too busy watching everyone in the venue enjoy themselves to the fullest.

• 6/20/2008 – My Morning Jacket at RCMH [MP3, STREAM, FLACs]

If I was to dream up a fest this summer consisting of some of the best roots singer/songwriters around, the line up would come pretty darn close to the one that was revealed for the inaugural Saratoga Music Festival. The one day fest to be held at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on August 17 will be headlined by Bob Dylan who will also be joined on the bill by Levon Helm, Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, The Swell Season, Conor Oberst & His Mystic Valley Band and Raul Malo. Not too shabby of a day a music, huh?

If a fest featuring some of the best roots musicians around isn’t for you, then maybe one of these recently announced tours will be…

• Psychedelic-popsters the Dandy Warhols reveal early fall dates (begins: 09/09)
• Icelandic atmospheric rockers Sigur Ros are back in September for another tour (begins: 09/17)
• The band with the coolest name, Thao Nguyen With The Get Down Stay Down, line up a handful of dates (begins: 06/19)
• Bust out your passport if you want to catch Band Of Horses (begins: 06/20)
• Steely Dan adds more dates to their already lengthy summer tour (continues: 06/20)
• Conor Oberst heads out on a monster solo tour with his Mystic Valley Band (begins: 07/16)
• Steve Earle lines up a long summer trek that concludes with four nights at the Judson Memorial Church (begins: 06/27)

Finally, if the line up for San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival wasn’t good enough, they recently announced a handful of additions to already stellar roster. Joining the likes of Radiohead, Tom Petty and Wilco will be Toots & the Maytals, Rogue Wave, The Walkmen, Mike Gordon, Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet feat. Bela Fleck, Vienna Teng, Howlin’ Rain, Everest, The Dynamites and Carney. The fest takes place from August 22 – 24, tickets are on-sale now.

Fuse TV’s marriage to MSG is starting to reap some major rewards. Tonight the network debuts Fuse Rocks The Garden: The Cure at 11PM featuring highlights from the band’s recent stop at the “World’s Greatest Arena.”

Friday [all times Eastern]:

• Documentary: The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story [VH1 Classic 8:00PM]
• Larry King Live: Motley Crue [CNN 9:00PM]
• London Live!: Beck [MOJOHD 9:30PM]
• Fuse Rocks The Garden: The Cure [Fuse 11:00PM]
• David Letterman: The Baseball Project [CBS 11:35PM]

Saturday:

• HDNet Concert Series: Rusted Root Live in Philly [HDNet 1:00PM]
• FNMTV: Vampire Weekend, Lil Wayne [MTV2 9:00PM]
• Saturday Rock The Deuce: Coldplay [MTV2 10:00PM]

Sunday:

• Live From SummerStage: Yeah Yeah Yeahs [1:30PM]
• CMT Summerfest: Lynyrd Skynyrd [MTVHD 10:00PM]
• HDNet Concert Series: Coldplay – How We Saw The World [11:00PM]

Earlier this week we posted our extensive list of videos from Bonnaroo 2008. Well, we just wanted to let you know that we’ve added about 50 more entries to the list including MMJ’s One Big Holiday w/ Kirk Hammett, Pearl Jam’s WMA bustout and YMSB’s Out of the Blue. You can check out the list by clicking here.

Today I find myself sitting on my couch next to my mounds of used facial tissue, Robitussin and other miscellaneous drugs procured from the local Walgreens, as I’m STILL recovering from this year’s ‘roo. On Saturday of last week I found myself getting sicker and sicker while working in Centeroo. It t’was a combination of cold and allergies according to my doctor. But no matter what it is — I’ll still call it the Bonnaflu. And let me tell you getting sick at a festival is the absolute worst — I would not wish it on anyone except Kanye West.

This was my sixth Bonnaroo, I’ve attended every year except 2005 when I opted for Summer Camp instead. It’s very hard for me not to go to Bonnnaroo as it’s less than 30 miles down the road. And over the years, I’ve learned how to pack for it and be prepared for anything because, unlike most of my friends, I have yet to attend the festival in the luxury of an air-conditioned RV.

For the second year in a row, I attended with HeadCount to register festival goers to vote. We arrived on Wednesday to absolutely wonderful weather. We got our booth in Planet Roo setup for the next day and setup our campsite as well. We spent that evening grilling out, catching up, watching the sunset and just having a good time. And even though I go to Bonnaroo for the music, sometimes the time spent at the campsite is just as important and just as fun. The team we had this year was fantastic. Every team member was top notch and I was once again, very proud to be a part of something as awesome as HeadCount.

READ ON for more of Jennifer’s thoughts on her ‘Roo experience…