What could be more American than seeing two of the most iconic American musicians playing minor baseball stadiums this summer? Well, how about you throw in a third to make for a formidable triple play. Dating back to 2004, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson have teamed up to tour intimate stadiums across the country. This year, the duo welcome John Mellencamp for shows at 22 ballparks across the country. The family-friendly shows will start at 5:30 PM and ticket holders may bring a child under 14 in for free.
If this great triple bill isn’t hitting a ballpark near you, than maybe you’ll be able to hit one of these recently announced tours…
Finally, indie-rockers Spoon will hold court at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, TX for three nights of shows for what is being billed as SPOONX3. The mini-festival will feature a different triple bill each night anchored by a set from Britt Daniels & Co. Joining Spoon over the course of the run will be …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead, Black Joe Lews & The Honey Bears, Low, Dale Watson, Atlas Sound and The Strange Boys. The band is currently offering up special three-day passes prior to individual shows going on-sale.
The producers of Rothbury have unveiled the lineup schedule for this year’s headliners. The String Cheese Incident, in their only appearance of 2009, will be the final performer on Friday July 3. The Dead, making their only Summer appearance, headline on Saturday July 4 and Bob Dylan followed by Willie Nelson & The Family Band close out the festivities on Sunday July 5.
An auction for a suitcase used by Ace Frehley fetches big bucks
Finally, The Dead played three shows in the Tri-State area this weekend and the reviews I’ve read run the gamut from “trainwreck” to “horrible” to “amazing” to “best Dead-related show I’ve seen since Jerry died.” Jeff and I will get a chance to check them out for ourselves over the next two nights at the Izod Center in New Jersey. Have you seen The Dead? Let us know what you thought about the show by leaving a comment below…
Charlie Hunter & Pound For Pound: Zurich, Switzerland – 10/30/1998 [MP3] [Stream]
Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter crossed over into the jamband scene thanks to the 1998 release Return Of The Candyman with his new combo Pound For Pound which featured Stefon Harris on vibraphone, John Santos on percussion and Scott Amendola on the drums. This album and line-up is considered by many to be his greatest effort and to be honest, it’s my personal favorite of anything he’s ever done.
Pound For Pound hit the road opening for Galactic on their Crazyhorse Mongoose tour and this is where I first fell in love with Hunter’s music. I remember seeing him on stage and me and my buddy counting all the instruments on stage and saying, “Where’s the bassist?” As we got closer, that’s when our jaws dropped at what we were seeing… an 8 STRING GUITAR! What the…
This particular show features a different lineup than the “original” Pound For Pound lineup and featured Bryan Carrott on vibraphone and Willard Dyson on the drums. They really brought it in a huge way on this show and I dare to say that it’s even as good if not better than what was captured in the studio. This is a great sounding set. It’s a warm, gorgeous soundboard recording from the Jazzno Jazz Festival in Zurich, Switzerland. I hope you all dig deep into this one. It’s a true gem!
Journey’s Separate Ways covered by nine year old Vocalist Vincent Fondale, 11 year old Alex Raz on lead guitar, 9 year old Joey Sampson on drums, 12 year old Alexis Shook on bass and 13 year old Anthony Fondale on keys…
Jonathan Demme, better known for directing the Oscar-winning Silence of the Lambs and the Talking Heads’ masterpiece Stop Making Sense, documents Neil Young’s two 2005 shows at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium for Heart of Gold (Thursday at 9PM on Palladia), one of the most underrated concert films ever. The first half features tunes from Young’s Prairie Wind while the second half showcases Young classics like I Am a Child, Old Man, Needle and the Damage Done and Cortez the Killer. Through interviews and concert footage, Demme captures countless poignant moments of a living legend including the film’s final shot.
Monday, 4/27 [All Times ET]
The Who: VH1 Rock Honors [Palladia 10AM]
Paul McCartney: Electric Prom [Palladia 1PM]
Prince: Purple Rain [Fuse 9PM]
Def Leppard: CMT Crossroads [Palladia 9PM]
Fleetwood Mac: Soundstage [Palladia Midnight]
Tuesday, 4/28
Mary J. Blige: Storytellers [Palladia 3PM]
SXSW 2009: Behind the Badge [IFC 3:30PM]
Duran Duran: Behind the Music [Palladia 7PM]
Genesis: When in Rome [Palladia 8PM]
Janis Joplin: Biography [Ovation 10PM]
Wednesday, 4/29
Carson Daly: Ben Harper & Relentless7 [NBC 1:35AM]
Yoko Ono: Profile [Ovation 3PM]
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Crossroads [Palladia 6PM]
Late last year when I caught Neil Young at Madison Square Garden, the legendary rocker used part of his monster three hour show to showcase a handful of new tunes from his next album, Fork In The Road, joking to the crowd to cheer whether they liked them or not since he was trying to impress some label reps in the crowd. While most in room probably were wishing he’d used the time to belt out some more classics, the songs were rooted in classic Harvest-era Young containing poignant lyrics about the environment that would have made Al Gore proud.
The album, which is the 33rd in Young’s storied career, was inspired by his efforts to turn an old 1959 Lincoln Continental, dubbed the Lincvolt, into an eco-friendly car that runs on alternative energy. A documentary that will follow Young as he drives the prototype car cross-country to Washington, DC is being made. Let’s check out Neil’s homemade video for Light A Candle…
Young is currently wrapping up a slew of North American dates before he heads overseas for a series of concerts throughout Europe.
We’re happy to see Steely Dan will return to the road again this summer and we’re even more excited to see that they are going to change it up this time around. Steely Dan’s Rent Party ’09 Tour will include multi-night stands of special setlist shows in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
All evenings of these special engagements will offer either Classic Album Night – in which the band will perform one of three selected albums in its entirety plus other classics – or “Takin’ It To The Seats” Internet Request Night where fans select the setlist over the internet. Before you buy a ticket, you’ll know which of the setlists above will be played on that night. Dates and details are coming soon and we’ll let you know as soon as we have ‘em.
In the spring of 1992, I entered a radio contest on KGON here in Portland. The deal was, Spinal Tap was coming to town. Now, Spinal tap tours are scarcer than The Who Farewell tours, but this contest had a twist.
Anyone who has seen the 1984 mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap would be familiar with the concept of the disappearing drummer. From tragic gardening accidents to excessive explosives, the throne behind the skins seemed cursed. So the concept put forth by the morning drive time team of Dave & Tom was to have an emergency percussion unit standing by in case the Tap’s touring drummer at the time (a back from the dead Mick Shrimpton in this case) didn’t survive the evening’s pyrotechnics.
Contestants who got through on the phone lines were pitted against each other in a drum-off each morning, the winner getting a pair of drum sticks as well as tickets to the show. The grand prize winner, chosen by another final drum-off the Friday before the show, would be feted to dinner, a limousine ride to the show, backstage, the whole enchilada. I had a trick up my sleeve for the final. Two thin screwdrivers for drum sticks and two ceramic coffee mugs for cymbals. A little razzle-dazzle into the phone on the desk and I held the title of Emergency Percussion Unit for Spinal Tap.
READ ON to find out how A.J. did and his thoughts on a recent show…
When I was a nice Jewish kid growing up in Essex County, I always looked forward to the times when the family would have bagels, lox, whitefish… you know “The Whole Schmear”. Thankfully, living in New York City and working in the Village has allowed me to be close to one of the few remaining stores that celebrate those great foods of my childhood and Jewish heritage. That place is Russ & Daughters, opened in 1914 and still going strong today.
Mark Russ Federman, representing the third of the four generations of famed Russ & Daughters, will guide you on a tasting of his extraordinary wares. From humble Herring to luscious Lox, Mark will be explain all—accompanied by a generous side order of the stories behind this New York culinary landmark, judged by the Smithsonian Institute as “part of New York’s cultural heritage.” Joining Mark will be Russ & Daughters’ long-time manager, Herman “The Artistic Slicer” Vargas. Join us in the Study at Astor Center, and pull up a chair for an experience you won’t forget.
READ ON for more on Russ & Daughters and Jon’s usual collection of links from foodie-related stories of interest from the week that was…
Back in March, Ray LaMontagne performed Trouble and You Are The Best Thing for his debut appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. That episode will be repeated, with guest host The Rock, on Saturday night at 11:30PM.
Friday, April 24 [all times Eastern]:
Documentary: Festival Express [IFC 2PM]
Pearl Jam: Ten Revisited [VH1 Classic 8PM]
David Letterman: Lily Allen [CBS 11:35PM]
Carson Daly: White Lies [NBC 1:35AM]
Saturday, April 25:
Austin City Limits: The Raconteurs [PBS Check Local Listings]
Documentary: Bob Dylan – Don’t Look Back [Palladia 1PM]
Pink Floyd: Pulse [VH1 Classic 8:30PM]
Saturday Night Live: Ray LaMontagne [NBC 11:30PM]
Sunday, April 26:
Spectacle: Norah Jones [Sundance 12:40PM]
Genesis: When In Rome [VH1 Classic 2PM]
Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks [HDNet 8PM]
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live at Freedom Hall [HDNet 11:10PM]
In these uncertain economic times, even musicians are looking to account for every penny that is owed to them. The members of Pink Floyd have filed a suit against their label, EMI, and its private equity firm owners, Terra Firma, claiming that the label has miscalculated their royalty payments.
Finally, for those of you that have seen HT faves The Felice Brothers over the last few months, you may have noticed the absence of Simon Felice from his usual spot behind the drum kit. Despite his surprise appearance at the band’s show last Friday night at Webster Hall, the drummer/vocalist/novelist has decided to take a break from the band to concentrate on his solo project The Duke & King. Simon, through a heartfelt open letter, revealed the rather sad circumstances behind his decision to leave The Felice Brothers and background on the material for his new band. The Duke & The King will make their New York City debut at Brooklyn’s Union Hall on May 20.
The Dead are coming to the NYC-area tomorrow and will be in town through Wednesday night. They kick things off at the Nassau Coliseum before moving over to a sold out Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Phil, Bobby, Mickey, Billy, Warren and Jeff take the circus to Hartford on Sunday before coming back down I-95 for two shows – featuring Branford Marsalis – at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ on Tuesday and Wednesday.
[HT to Ed D. of the Freaks]
Tickets are still available for every show except MSG. You can watch The Dead perform tonight on the Late Show with David Letterman.
with his new combo Pound For Pound which featured Stefon Harris on vibraphone, John Santos on percussion and Scott Amendola on the drums. This album and line-up is considered by many to be his greatest effort and to be honest, it’s my personal favorite of anything he’s ever done.
would be familiar with the concept of the disappearing drummer. From tragic gardening accidents to excessive explosives, the throne behind the skins seemed cursed. So the concept put forth by the morning drive time team of Dave & Tom was to have an emergency percussion unit standing by in case the Tap’s touring drummer at the time (a back from the dead Mick Shrimpton in this case) didn’t survive the evening’s pyrotechnics.
