A large variety of bands took the stage last night with a bag full of treats and tricks for their loyal fans. Let’s kickoff our coverage with a look at the setlists from some of the bigger shows as they happen…

Al and the Transamericans

The Electric Company
Utica, NY

Set: Somewhere In Kansas*, 20th Century Man, Another Home*, Everything Here, Grass Is Greener*, Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young), Guitar, Time* (Kirk Juhas), Some Of The Parts*, Lost & Found, Jambalaya ^ (Hank Williams), I Will, Light Of the Moon*, Waiting For The Rain*, Instrumental (“a Gordon Stone Original”), Deal (Hunter/Garcia) > Waiting For The Punchline

* First time played (?) and tracks off “This Day & Age”
^ w/ (insert name of local very cool senior citizen on totally rockin’ trombonaphone)

Black Crowes

Hammerstein Ballroom
New York, NY

Set: Halfway To Everywhere, Evergreen, Sting Me, Seeing Things, Evil Eye, She Talks To Angels, Poor Elijah, Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos, Whoa Mule, Torn and Frayed, We Who See The Deep > Thorn In My Pride > Drums > Wiser Time, Remedy, Wounded Bird

Encore: Good Friday
Encore 2: Hey Hey What Can I Do?

[via CrowesTK @ Amorica]

The Breakfast

The ‘Sco @ Oberlin College
Oberlin, OH

Set: Looney Tunes Theme > Beef Barley > The Simpsons Theme > Beef Barley, Popeye The Sailor Man Theme, The Sound, South Park Theme > Hard Luck Harry > Ghost Busters Theme > Metropolis, Sponge Bob Square Pants Theme, Jam > Over Exposure

[via OMS211]

READ ON for a slew of Halloween setlists from the likes of Phil Lesh and Friends, Umphrey’s McGee, Gov’t Mule and more…

Magic Hat and HeadCount celebrate Election Eve this Monday with a bash at NYC’s Highline Ballroom featuring performances from a who’s/who of the jamband scene. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the show, so be sure to enter before the contest ends on Saturday night for a chance to win.

Here’s one last look at what’s happening in the music world…

• Bruce Springsteen shares a new song for Halloween
• Wilco performs Wilco The Song on the Colbert Report
• Billboard reports that Led Zep has chosen Myles Kennedy
• Michael Jackson puts the kibosh on a Jackson 5 reunion
• The Dead put their tensions behind them for Barack Obama
• Who’s stealing the Obama signs on Peter Frampton’s lawn?

That’s all we have for this week. If you’ve got nothing to do tonight, check out the Widespread Panic webcast from New Orleans at 9PM EDT or dig through the Live Music Archive’s collection of 334 Halloween shows.

In our continuing celebration of Halloween, we’ve prepared a Friday Mix Tape chocked full of goodies recorded on this date in history. Some of these tracks come from commercial releases, so be sure to purchase the full album if you like the tracks we used. Let’s take a gander at some tricks and treats…

We start with the rambunctious Magic Fingers from Frank Zappa’s Halloween release. Next, enjoy one of my favorite Phish covers of all-time: Born Under Punches from Live Phish: 10/31/1996. After that, we bring you Widespread Panic covering Nelly’s Hot In Herre from Jackassolantern. We check in with moe. for a spot-on rendition of The Simpsons Theme Song from the band’s 2002 Halloween concert. Let’s turn to the Grateful Dead for the scrappy shuffle Althea from the bonus disc of Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 1. Finally, Gov’t Mule lends us Zeppelin’s Over The Hills and Far Away from last year’s show which was released as Holy Haunted House.

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK’S MIX TAPE

We’d like to welcome longtime reader and commenter Frank Sturges into the fold to give us a local boy’s thoughts on the Xmas Jam lineup…

The Warren Haynes Xmas Jam is a chance for North Carolina to remind the rest of the country that every winter it dominates the winter festival scene.

Warren always brings a stellar group of musicians to the stage to jam all night long, take on some covers and participate in interesting collaborations. This year the Jam turns 20 (no more teenage angst) and expands to two nights. So, who did Mr. Haynes bring to the table for this epic event?

Well, the answer is that it’s a solid lineup, but nothing really blows me away. The more you look at it, the more it appeals as an Xmas Jam lineup. As you’re looking, keep in mind that these acts don’t exist in isolation but as a set of musicians to work together throughout the event. And when you start to think of what can happen with this group, there is some definite excitement.

READ ON for Frank’s Xmas Jam predictions and wishes…

It all started way back in 1985, when the Grateful Dead treated the crowd at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, SC to the first version of Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London since 1978. That’s the night Halloween became more than just a regular gig for jambands. Since that fateful night at the University of South Carolina we’ve seen a number acts try all sorts of different things to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve including Phish donning the musical costume of other bands by playing classic albums in their entirety.

Rock Candy > Triumph > Maze

Halloween 2008 got off to an early start this morning when Electron covered three Phish songs and Also Sprach Zarathrustra (2001) at the Highline Ballroom in New York City. You might remember that Electron members Marc Brownstein, Aron Magner and Joe Russo were part of the HeadCount Allstar tribute to the Phab Phour at the Jammys that suffered more from poor timing than the quality of their performance.

After starting the second set with the intro to Rock Candy and the middle of Triumph, the quartet worked their way into Maze – by far the best of the songs the HeadCount Allstars rocked out at the Jammys. As previously mentioned, the Disco Biscuits/Duo/American Babies side project also performed 2001 as well as Phish classics Weekapaug Groove and Tweezer Reprise. According to fans in attendance the covers were well played and the band had shit-eating grins the whole time. We’d love to point you in the direction of tapes from last night but Electron doesn’t allow taping.

Jim James and his merry band of My Morning Jacket brothers returned to the Austin City Limits stage in August for a performance that focused heavily on material from Evil Urges with a few classics thrown in. You can catch the Kentucky quintet in all their glory this weekend on your local PBS station.

Friday [All Times Eastern]:

• Daily Habit: The Virgins [FUEL 5:30PM]
• The Colbert Report: Wilco [COM 8:30PM]
• Late Show w/ David Letterman: George Clinton [CBS 11:35PM]
• The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno: Death Cab [NBC 11:35PM]

Saturday:

• Sigur Ros: Heima [Sundance 10AM]
• Live From The Voodoo Experience [Fuse 2PM]
• Austin City Limits: My Morning Jacket [PBS Check Local Listings]

Sunday:

• Private Sessions: Lindsay Buckingham [A&E 9AM]
• HDNet Concert Series: Foo Fighters [HDNet 4:40PM]
• Live At Donnington: AC/DC [VH-1 Classic 8PM]
• Beautiful Noise: Grace Potter [Rave HD Midnight]

The suits at MTV weren’t happy to see YouTube come into the picture a few years back to become THE place to watch old music videos. MTV made videos what they are before relegating them to MTV2 in lieu of such brilliant programing as The Real World – Weehawken and True Life: My Son Fucks Goats. This week, MTV finally got in the game by launching MTV Music.

The MTV Music portal features over 16,000 videos, Unplugged performances and exclusive MTV concert footage with the promise of much more to come. I spent a few hours combing through the site last night and found some really cool clips. Here’s ten great videos from the ’80s I hadn’t seen in years…

10. Every Little Kiss – Bruce Hornsby

Remember when Bruce Hornsby used to be a pop star? There are plenty of old Bruuuuce videos on MTV Music besides Every Little Kiss including Valley Road, The Way It Is and Across The River.

9. Foolish Heart – Grateful Dead

Most people focus on Touch of Grey when discussing the Grateful Dead’s music videos, but they actually made a number of promotional videos including Just A Little Light, Hell In A Bucket, We Can Run and this clip for Built To Last’s Foolish Heart.

READ ON for eight more videos from deep within MTV’s vault…

Harmonix and MTV, the makers of popular video game Rock Band, announced that they will join forces with The Beatles to create a standalone version of the game based on the music of the Fab Four due late next year. But don’t expect the game to be Rock Band: The Beatles…

“It’s not a ‘Rock Band’ game,” Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos said during a conference call, speaking for the MTV-owned studio behind the original “Guitar Hero” and the “Rock Band” series. “It’s a new creative exploration of their music and a celebration of their legacy in a way that hasn’t been done before.” The developer added that it will be a “music-making game. … There will be interactive performance of the music … and stuff you haven’t seen from us before.” The game is being described as a “journey” through the band’s career, from its first album to its last, though whether that means the project will encompass every Beatles song was not something the reps were willing to divulge. Reps also did not comment on whether gamers would be able to play as the musicians themselves. [MTV News]

It’s fantastic to see The Beatles finally starting to embrace technology. Can a deal with iTunes and Surround Sound remasters be far behind?

Honorary lifetime member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union, Neil Young, cancelled a concert at TForum in Inglewood this evening due to a strike by the venue’s workers against the venue’s owners. The concert will be rescheduled for sometime in 2009, and ticket holders will be eligible for refunds. [Relix]

Jermaine Jackson told the Associated Press that The Jackson 5 are planning to tour next year with sister Janet Jackson as the opening act. Jackson mentioned that all of the brothers will be involved, including Michael.

This past weekend, Neil Young assembled a number of notable artists for the 22nd installment of his Bridge School Benefit concert series – that included Wilco, DC4C, ZZ Top, Cat Power and Norah Jones – who all play acoustic sets over the course of the two day event. While video from the festivities is still trickling in to YouTube we wanted to share one from Norah Jones’ set.

In a nod to one other acts on the bill the smoky-voiced, pianist treated the sold out to a cover of Wilco’s Jesus, Etc. – that features Jones on guitar…

In other Wilco related news, the band plans on keeping busy in the days leading up to Election Day. First up for Jeff Tweedy & Co. will be an appearance as the musical guest tonight on The Colbert Report. While Saturday, a “stripped down” version of the band consisting of Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt and Pat Sansone will perform at the Union Theater in Madison, WI as part of a Campaign For Change rally for Barack Obama.

NYCTaper just finished an extremely busy week that found him covering a number of up-and-coming artists at the CMJ Festival. Head over to his site for high-quality recordings of Cake Shop, Best Friends Forever and Oxford Collapse. There’s no rest for the weary as NYCTaper kicks off another busy week this evening by taping O’Death and Sharon Van Etten.

If you’re iPod’s hungry, we’ve got something to fill it up…

• Yo La Tengo SBD Fuse Festival [Smuggled Sounds]
• Nine Inch Nails 07/28/1990 SBD [T.U.B.E.]
• Thom Yorke 03/29/1996 SBD [Owl and Bear]
• Whiskeytown – Unreleased Album [Steam Engine]
• Elvis Costello 04/22/1989 Unknown [Double-parking]
• Led Zeppelin 07/15/1973 Remaster [Grateful Breed]

On November 24, legendary auction house Christie’s will be hosting an event that will feature memorabilia from a number of the influential punk, new wave and glam rock acts including Television, David Bowie, The Clash, Sex Pistols and The Ramones. The auction includes more than 120 records, photos and promotional pieces including a scrawled flyer for one of The Clash’s first shows and publicity photos signed by the Sex Pistols. The full lot is currently online.

• List Time: 12 Late Night Thoughts About CMJ
• SIHF starts getting us excited for festie season ’09
• How about some “spooky” songs to spin on Halloween
• Hippies Are Dead offers up A Pavement Primer
• Weird Cover Alert: Built To Spill covers M.I.A’s Paper Planes
• Ryan Adams played a stealth late afternoon concert
  

Finally, for all you vinyl enthusiasts out there former BtN artist Nada Surf will release all five of its studio albums on vinyl for the first time via a limited edition box set. The set will also include the band’s first 7″ single, a full-color 24-page lyric and photo book, and download codes to MP3s of rare and out-of-print b-sides and bonus tracks, as well as to all the albums.

Sometimes the events surrounding a show garner it nearly impossible for a let down. For example, take an 80 degree sunny day on an October weekend packed with friends on a wedding getaway for the first time ever to the endearing city of Austin, Texas. Then add about a hundred thousand lubricated University of Texas Longhorns fans coming off their number one ranked football team’s takedown of the number six Oklahoma State Cowboys and put a thousand or so of the drunkest ones in Stubb’s BBQ for a nighttime serenade by Ben Folds. While normally this might sound like a recipe for disaster, it was a well behaved, yet euphoric populous to share in our cherry popping at the famed Stubb’s BBQ.

Before we dive into the nitty gritty of the Ben Folds show, I have two staunch recommendations for anyone taking a first time pilgrimage to Austin (warning: you veggies might want to skip ahead a couple paragraphs). Stubb’s is an obvious choice, but for a truly amazing barbeque feast, but you absolutely have to head a half hour outside town to the Mecca of food that is the Salt Lick. My friends and I, hung-over like you wouldn’t believe, rallied a group of 30 friends out to Driftwood, Texas to feast on juicy brisket, fatty spare ribs, giant sausages, barbequed chicken, cole slaw, every down-home side dish you could imagine, and some warm blackberry pie. The best of all was this amazing brown sugary sauce (more like barbeque gravy than a traditional barbeque sauce) that smothered over our heaping plates of food. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. Just get a load of this barbeque pit.

READ ON for more of Rupert’s review of Ben Folds in Austin…

There wasn’t much in the way of covers on Trey Anastasio’s recently completed tour with Classic TAB, but Big Red did give the crowd in Richmond one massive bust out at the tour’s final show on Saturday night. Towards the middle of the second set, Anastasio delivered a powerful version of Jimmy Cliff’s Sitting In Limbo that sent cell phones skyward.

Way back in September, DaveO featured this gorgeous ballad for one of the best installments of Cover Wars yet. Dave Grisman and Jerry Garcia destroyed the opposition in the voting, but Dave was sure to include a version of the Voltz playing Sitting In Limbo along six other interesting covers of the tune that should be heard.  A handsome young devil at You Enjoy Myblog posted a fantastic clip of Classic TAB’s performance of Sitting In Limbo which brought out the goosebumps on my arm. Let’s take a look…

• Previously on HT: Cover Wars -- Sitting In Limbo
• YEMblog: Videos From Trey’s Northern Exposure Tour

Further Viewing:

• Jimmy Cliff: Sitting In Limbo
• Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB: Ooh Child
• Cheesiest Version of Sitting In Limbo Ever

Nearly everyone who catches Ukulele wiz Jake Shimabukuro in action comes back raving about his virtuosic playing. He’s become so popular that his visits to NYC have become few and far between. Next Wednesday, Shimabukuro returns to NYC to headline an evening of performances by Uke superstars including Jon Braman, Melvern Taylor, Sonic Uke and Victoria Vox at the Blender Theater. You can expect a ton of sit-ins and plenty of covers from a wide range of artists including The Beatles and Cyndi Lauper.

The show starts at 8PM and tickets are still available.

Some of the best Jake videos on YouTube:

• While My Guitar Gently Weeps
• Let’s Dance
• Star Spangled Banner
• Time After Time

In this critical time before the election, HeadCount and Cinetic Rights Management have made the documentary film A Call to Action available for free on Snagfilms.com.  If you’re looking for more politics and music before the election, join Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio, Marc Brownstein, Bela Fleck and other HeadCount supporters as they reflect upon HeadCount, politics and the live music scene’s increased mobilization around causes.

Look out for the live performances by Trey Anastasio, The Disco Biscuits, and moe., as well as an awesome Christmas Jam moment with Warren Haynes and Trey rocking out an especially electric I Know You Rider.

• Sharon Jones sits down with Perez Hilton for a profile
• See what happens when Andrew Bird jams with Yo-Yo Ma
• Wilco have finished recording a brand new batch of demos
• John Oates pinch sang for Daryl Hall at the World Series
• Blues Traveler visits WNEW for a performance and interview
• Kyndmusic speaks with Oteil Burbridge and Scott Murawski

Finally, we’re pretty bummed that what should’ve been a triumphant Led Zeppelin tour has turned into a bad version of VH-1′s Supergroup. The LA Times thinks some good can come out of JPJ and Jimmy Page’s decision to move forward without Plant and lists five ways to avoid disaster.