I promised myself I’d stay away from the computer this weekend, but as per usual that just didn’t happen. Especially after I got a text saying Phish will be releasing an official version of the Clifford Ball on DVD in February. There isn’t much to go on yet, but something about Here Comes The Flood’s post makes me think it’s the real deal. Let’s all hope this is true.

You’ve gotta hand it to the folks at JEMP Records and Phish Inc. Just as one release drops they are already planning the next one. We’ll keep you updated on this fantastic looking release when we hear more.

Thanksgiving around these parts only means one thing: our annual fluffage of arguably the greatest rock movie of all time – Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz. Roughly 32 years ago on Thanksgiving at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom 5,000 lucky fans were treated to a full turkey dinner at 5 PM, which was followed by Rick, Robbie, Levon, Garth and Richard’s “farewell” guest-laden performance.

While there are any number of memorable performances from that historic night, let’s check out this excerpt from the movie that first features Richard, Rick and Robbie playing an acoustic version Old Time Religion at Shangri-La Studio followed by Eric Clapton joining The Band for Further Up The Road. Be sure to pay attention as Clapton’s guitar strap breaks early into his first solo and without missing a beat Robbie Robertson injects a solo of his own…

Earlier that year Clapton had released No Reason To Cry which featured members The Band and was recorded at their LA studio.

Previously On HT: Tryptophan The Light Fantastic, Pic Surfaces Of Oswald Playing Ruby’s Club, Pullin’ ‘Tubes: Band Related Edition

Between watching football, eating yourself into a food coma and dealing with your family thought we’d just give you a quick escape with a lengthy link dump of some music news you may have missed in your rush to get out of work yesterday…

• Cover Alert: Lambchop tackles Bob Dylan
• Former Wilco member Jay Bennett released a new free album
• Check out this hand written letter from Zimmy to Jerry
• List Time: Top 5 Top 5 Lists In High Fidelity
• Neil Young and DBT will back Booker T. on his new release
• Muzzle Of Bees offers up some Grateful Dead covers
• Billy Corgan blames Eddie Vedder for the Cubs playoff lose
• The amazing Take-Away Shows are headed to Current TV

Finally Philadelphia indie-rock band Matt Pond PA has released a free digital EP for Thanksgiving which has been cleverly title The Freep. Along with the nine track download the band has also treated its fans to a brand new music video too for their song People Have The Way.

Thanksgiving Weekend has always been a big time for live music and this coming weekend is no exception. Out in Atlanta local favorites The Grapes and Col. Bruce Hampton return to the Variety Playhouse on Friday night, while The Breakfast bring the jams to Boston. In Chicago, The Hue continue to break in stellar new bassist Kyle Meyers at the Elbo Room on Friday.

Michael Franti and Spearhead spend their turkey weekend in Denver for a couple of shows at the Fillmore and New York City turns into Coverville central with concerts by Strange Design (Phish), Dark Star Orchestra (Grateful Dead) and Mr. Brownstone (Guns N’ Roses). Meanwhile, The Duo heads out to San Francisco for a show on Friday and a special Bustle In Your Hedgerow gig on Saturday at The Independent.

Let’s take a look at three best bets from some of the major markets…

Atlanta:

• The Last Waltz Ensemble @ Smith’s Olde Bar [Friday]
• The Grapes, Col. Bruce @ Variety Playhouse [Friday]
• BoomBox @ Smith’s Olde Bar [Saturday]

Boston:

• Fishbone @ Harper’s Ferry [Friday]
• The Breakfast @ Middle East [Friday]
• Japhy Ryder @ Middle East [Saturday]

Chicago:

• The Hue @ Elbo Room [Friday]
• Groovatron @ Kinetic Playground [Friday]
• Cornmeal/Rev Payton’s Big Band @ The Vic [Sat.]

Denver:

• Michael Franti and Spearhead @ The Fillmore [Fri., Sat.]
• Yeasayer @ Bluebird Theater [Saturday]
• Matisyahu @ Ogden Theater [Saturday]

NYC:

• Strange Design @ Sullivan Hall [Fri, Sat]
• Dark Star Orchestra @ Nokia [Fri, Sat]
• Mr. Brownstone @ Irving Plaza [Friday]

San Francisco:

• New Riders @ GAMH [Friday]
• The Duo @ The Independent [Friday]
• Bustle In Your Hedgerow @ The Independent [Sat.]

Have a fantastic Turkey Day everybody! Enjoy the long weekend.

Ahh, Thanksgiving. A time for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, bad football on the front lawn, drunk uncles falling down and of course, Phish.

[All photos via Phishpics.net]

Although there is no late fall run for the band again this year – we’ll have to wait until March for the band’s return to the stage – we’re taking a look back at the band’s Northeast Turkey Week run from November 2003 and picking out the best pieces of white meat from a group of shows that is general considered undercooked by most fans. The run started in Nassau the day after Thanksgiving and wrapped up in Boston with the band’s 20th Anniversary Show at the Fleet Center.

Maze – 12/2/03 Boston

One of the few times that Page seems to really be front and center on this run. Longer than your average Maze, this version seems to be infused with some extra venom. I never thought I’d walk away from the band’s 20th Anniversary show calling a Rift-era setlist staple a highlight, but in what turned out to be a pretty standard setlist, Maze provided the boldest and deepest improv of the night.

READ ON for four other highlights from the Phish 20th Anniversary Run…

Our pal Chad recently spoke with Widespread Panic’s Jimmy Herring about his terrific new solo album, Lifeboat, for Glide Magazine’s main site. The solo slinger reflects on why he decided to record his own disc, how he put together the personnel for the album, what he took from his time in The Dead and Phil and Friends plus much much more. Be sure to check it out.

• CLICK HERE TO READ CHAD’S INTERVIEW w/ JIMMY

Also New at Glide Magazine

• Review: Mudcrutch Extended Play Live EP
• Photo Gallery: Ratdog @ The Orpheum
• Featured Video: Marco Benevento Trio

Click-here to test your luck at Gamehenge Trivia

Dan Auerbach is best known for being half of the Akron, OH blues-rock duo The Black Keys. The singer/guitarist, who sounds remarkably like Warren Haynes, seems to have found the two-man format a bit cumbersome as he will release his solo debut Keep It Hid on February 10. The album is said to be mixture of psychedelia, soul music and country harmonies.

Auerbach has a lined up a brief 11 date cross-country club run to showcase the material – which starts a few weeks after The Black Keys finish a short tour of their own.

If you’d rather see both Keys in action, than maybe one of these recently announced tours will be for you…

• Baltimore jam act The Bridge head South and West (begins: 12/04)
• Donovan Frankenreiter maps out an extensive West Coast tour (begins: 01/25)
• Afro-funk star Femi Kuti lines up a 13 city cross-country jaunt (begins: 01/07)
• Swedish inde-pop singer Lykke Lie returns to the States early next year (begins: 01/31)
• Singer/songwriter/violinist Andrew Bird puts together the first leg of his NA tour (begins: 01/28)
• Check out Brooklyn Vegan’s NYC Hannukah Concert Guide

Finally, the folks behind the annual River To River music festival are now stretching their Seaport Music Festival into the winter months thanks to the opening of a new ice skating rink on Pier 17. While no line up has officially been revealed the rink is set to open this Friday (November 28), with the weekly music series running through February.

We’ve always been fans of the music and art blog, so we’re excited to welcome the site’s creator, Alex Borsody, to tell us about his experience at the 2008 Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival in Live Oak…

“When I pulled up to the campground [for the 2008 Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival] it seemed like every person I saw, whether a fan or musician, was someone I knew, that’s when a festival turns out to be more like a family reunion.” This paraphrased quote was spoken by Florida native JJ Grey of Mofro, and it sums up the general sentiment at the event. Nestled in the woods of the Spirit of Suwannee Music Resort in Live Oak, Florida, the harvest moon hung high over head as the spell of the season of the witch spread throughout the campground, like the spirit of music itself.

Being a bass player I have particular respect for funk. The creative rhythms created throughout the weekend played with negative space and the length of notes, creating catchy and danceable grooves, a rare and mysterious talent in music. One of the things separating an incredible player from the virtuoso is the ability to memorize and recall different patterns and melodies on cue. The skilled funk guitarists, organ players and drummers were equally exceptional. Some of the world’s best funk bands were in full effect this weekend, including the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Lettuce, Soulive, Papa Mali, Cadillac Jones and Dumpstaphunk. That many elite funk bands in one place is truly an uncommon occurrence. The soulful music complemented the crisp, fall air, awakening primordial emotions and creating a sentimental and celebratory environment for this harvest festival.

Those who arrived for the Thursday pre-show, got to catch live electronic music by Telepath, one of the only two electronica sets of the weekend, also a face melting, power drumming, climactic jam by Perpetual Groove. The Motet played with Kyle Hollingsworth, the keyboardist for the String Cheese Incident, foreshadowing the many collaborations to come.

READ ON for more of Alex’s Bear Creek Festival review…

Just a reminder that our giveaway for two pair of tickets to catch phenoms Strange Design cover Phish’s epic performances at the Beacon from 1994 at Sullivan Hall on Friday and Saturday ends this evening ’round Midnight. You’ve got great odds if you want to go, so be sure to enter by leaving a comment underneath this post telling us about your favorite NYC Phish show of all-time. Good luck to all who enter. C’mon 4/15/1994!