Last weekend, I witnessed one of the coolest concert experiences ever. Hidden in the hills of McMinnville, Tennessee lies the Cumberland Caverns a national natural landmark. Inside the cavern lies the Volcano Room, which happens to be one of the best natural acoustic spaces on earth. A few months ago Bluegrass Underground – not to be confused with now defunct band Blueground Undergrass – launched.

Bluegrass Underground is a monthly concert held inside the cavern that is broadcast on the world famous WSM AM. This past Saturday, Those Darlins – along with Grand Old Opry legend Charlie Louvin – literally rocked the cave. Luckily, I had my camera in tow to capture the experience of a lifetime.

Last Week’s Sauce is a recurring column featuring recordings of shows from the previous week. Thanks to Kevin Browning for this week’s photo.

Artist & Title: Assembly Of Dust – Arc Of The Sun
Date & Venue: 2009-09-25 Port City Music Hall, Portland ME
Taper & Show Download: SmokinJoe

If you haven’t heard Assembly Of Dust’s 2009 release Some Assembly Required, what are you waiting for? It’s a great selection of tunes and the album overflows with collaborations from legendary musicians. Assembly of Dust plays tonight with the Emmitt-Nershi Band at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom.

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READ ON to hear tracks from the likes of Bruce Hornsby and Built To Spill

Have you ever watched a live video on YouTube that you really enjoyed and wanted to take the audio with you? Just copy and paste the URL of any video from YouTube at a new website called Dirpy and after a few short steps you’ll be able to download an MP3 of the audio from that clip.

I used Dirpy to create an MP3 of My Morning Jacket rockin’ Gideon with the Boston Pops on Letterman back in 2006 and it works well.

Here’s a look at other stories making the rounds…

• Like Father Like Son – Peter Tosh’s son arrested
• The Boss will cover a few albums at Giants Stadium
• AC/DC to release a box set of rarities in November
• Check out this archive of My Morning Jacket articles
• Danger Mouse forms yet another new supergroup
• Pete Mason interviews The McLovins for State of Mind

Finally, the folks at Wolfgang’s Vault will add 1,000 concerts to the 500 shows already available for purchase on their site. You’ll be able to buy MP3s or FLACs as well as stream each of the shows for about $10 each.

The Flaming Lips – I Can Be A Frog

Way back in April of 2008, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead held a press conference to announce a deal they struck with the University of Califonia at Santa Cruz to house the band’s archives. We haven’t heard much about this project since that day…until now. UC Santa Cruz announced that they have been awarded a National Leadership Grant of $615,175 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)–the primary source of federal funds for the nation’s museums and libraries.

The grant will enable the UCSC Library to digitize materials from its Grateful Dead Archive and make them available in a unique and cutting-edge web site titled, “The Virtual Terrapin Station.”

UCSC is one of 51 institutions nationwide that received National Leadership Grants this year totaling nearly $18 million. Projects funded by the IMLS are designed to “advance the ability of museums and libraries to preserve culture, heritage, and knowledge while enhancing learning.” [UCSC Press Release]

We can’t imagine the conservatives behind the Tea Parties are going to be happy when they hear about this use of federal funds. Regardless, Deadheads everywhere will benefit from the fruits of the grant money. The money will ensure that the band’s fans from around the world will be able to view the contents of the band’s archives without having to make the trip to Santa Cruz.

Digitizing the archive should take about two and a half years according to UCSC head of special collections and archives Christine Bunting as per an article in the Contra Costa Times. Bunting also reveals that the band donated 2/3rds of the material in the collection while Deadheads have supplied the rest. We’ll look forward to the day in 2012 when we get to see this “Virtual Terrapin Station” and hope it doesn’t get delayed for over a decade like the band’s first attempt at a “Virtual Terrapin Station” back in 1997. The $615, 175 of federal funds should help this time around.

2009 has shaped up to be quite a year for HT faves Blind Pilot. The Portland-based act have logged a lot of miles on the road over the course of the last six-plus months with headlining tours, festival appearances and holding down the opening slot for a number of big name bands which include the likes of The Decemberists, Gomez and the Counting Crows. Showing no signs of slowing down, Blind Pilot will head out yet again for another round of dates with a two-month run that kicks off on October 9 – with The Low Anthem and Laura Veirs & The Hall Of Flames splitting opening duties.

If you’re not into a night with Blind Pilot’s brand of folk-rock, than maybe you’ll be interested in hitting one of these recently announced tours…

• Indie-pop act Bishop Allen will head cross-country
• Wye Oak bring their lo-fi sounds to a town near you
• Dinosaur Jr. will knock out 38 shows in a two month span
• Great American Taxi mix headlining and festival appearances
• Former CCR front man John Fogerty lines up a brief October run
• EmmyLou Harris puts together a short fall jaunt

Finally, San Francisco is no stranger to the sounds of psychedelic music, with the city playing home to many of the scene’s integral bands during its 1960s heyday. Now, some 40+ years later, San Fran’s psych-rock scene is again thriving as it will play host to The Second Annual Frisco Freakout Psychedelic Dance Party – which is set to take place at the The Parkside on October 10. The single day event, which will run from 2 PM to 2 AM, will feature the likes of Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Heavy Hills, Powell St. John and the Aliens, Liquorball with Steve MacKay, Wooden Shjips, and more. Proceeds will benefit Creativity Explored, a non-profit group which provides studio and gallery opportunities for artists with developmental disabilities.

When the producers of Langerado canceled this year’s festival in February we had a sinking feeling that was the end of the road for the annual event. Our friends at Consequence of Sound tipped us to an interview with Langerado co-founder Ethan Schwartz that puts the final nail in the festival’s coffin…

Over beers at Davie’s Ye Olde Falcon Pub, Schwartz put to rest rumors of a 2010 Langerado (to be held out in the Everglades again, according to the Internet grapevine), saying that the festival was “probably” gone for good. While he insisted that he isn’t done promoting and producing shows in South Florida, he quickly added that he’d like to do shows all over the state as well as his new home state, which, to these jaded ears, sounded suspiciously like he’d be bringing bands to, say, Atlanta, Orlando or Tampa, rather than down here. [Metromix]

Good luck to Ethan and godspeed to the music fans of South Florida.

Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ is the last track on the 1970 Velvet Underground album Loaded. Loaded would be the last Velvet Underground album before guitarist/lead singer Lou Reed left the group to start a solo career.

I’ll tell ‘ya, if you do actually listen to all five versions of this tune – and you happen to listen to them all in a row, you’re going to have the overwhelming urge to blast some loud and aggressive tunes as soon as that’s done. 44 minutes of Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ might bring you a little bit down, so have something queued up – I went with a live version of Immigrant Song.

The Contestants:

$10,000 Gold Chain: Not a whole lot of information out there on this band, but I do know it’s led by Mike McCready (the lead guitarist in Pearl Jam). It’s possible the only song this ensemble ever recorded was this cover for a 1996 Jim Carrey movie. Source: The Cable Guy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

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READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…

Here’s the fourth video in the Lotus web series we told you about a few weeks ago. This installment features the world premiere of the band’s latest single, Simian, off the forthcoming EP, Oil on Glass, along with live footage from Rothbury, band interviews and much more…

Lotus – Through The Mirror (Episode 4)

Words and Images: Tim Hara

The crowd buzzed with anticipation as they waited for Mike Gordon to take the stage at the packed Park West in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago this past Friday night. Rumors swirled that Gordon’s Phish band mate, Trey Anastasio, would be making a guest appearance since he was in town the day before to do an interview for a local radio station. Unfortunately for Phish fans, Trey would never show. However, the crowd didn’t mind as Mike Gordon and company treated fans to a night of great music accompanied by guitarist Scott Murawski, Craig Myers on percussion, Tom Cleary on keyboards, and drummer Todd Isler.

Throughout the two sets, Gordon and his band played a wide array of songs from old and new originals to covers. In the first set, the night kicked off with Another Door from Gordon’s most recent album, The Green Sparrow. Later in the set, the band played solid versions of Mike’s new original Can’t Stand Still and Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator). Things really got going when Gordon and friends delighted fans with a rocking version of Soulfood Man from from 2003’s Inside In. The set closed with Dig Further Down, another Sparrow tune.

While it seemed as though Gordon and his band needed the first set to get comfortable and loosen up, the real magic came in the set that followed. They opened with the new, short and sweet Phish song, Sugar Shack, which was penned by Mike. Next came an inspired guest sit-in by Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville. The crowd roared and frantically snapped photos as keyboardist Tom Cleary and Neville sat side-by-side dueling during Hey Now Baby. After Neville left, the band surprised the audience again with a cover of Radiohead’s 15 Step. The highlight of the show came with a huge set-closing jam out of Traveled Too Far, another Sparrow song. The night ended with another sing along when the band encored with The Beatles’ She Said, She Said. READ ON for more of Tim’s thoughts and photos…

As if Phish fans weren’t riled up enough about Festival 8, the quartet has just upped the ante by unveiling a website with nearly 100 album covers of discs the band may potentially play in Indio. The only instructions on the site state “play the last record left alive” which leads us to believe that most of the album covers will be removed in some way in the time leading up to the festival giving fans a hint at what album will be covered on 10/31.

The album covers displayed on the website run the gamut from classic rock albums (Eat a Peach, Hot Rats, Pretzel Logic) to contemporary classics (Ten, Appetite For Destruction, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) to the no-chance-its-happening Pork Tornado debut featuring Jon Fishman.

In the past, Phish has never directly given their fans clues regarding the albums they cover on Halloween so this is new territory for the band. The unveiling of this “Haunted House of Albums” gives Phish fans a chance to get familiar with the potential albums before they head out to Indio for the three-day festival on October 30, 31 and November 1. For a fanbase not used to seeing their favorite band flex its marketing muscle, Festival 8 already has given us the “Save The Date” map, the first-ever full-length acoustic set and the Haunted House.

MMW’s Shack Man and Tom Petty’s Damn The Torpedoes seem to be the first two albums killed, i.e. out of contention for Festival 8.

READ ON for the full list of albums included in this “House of Albums” as well as a look at Phish’s past Halloween musical costumes…

Chicago, IL is the birthplace of House Music, and subsequently, the birthplace of Electronic Music. Sure, Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno were making synth based music before this, but nothing resembling the beats and rhythm patterns that make up current day Electronic Music as a genre.

House was a product of technological advancements in studio production gear. This process is what drives Electronic Music to this day. New synths, drum machines, and software are constantly evolving and the genre follows suit. The Roland SH 101 and the Roland TB 303 were the first synths that were used to create House. They were keyboards with built in sequencers used for looping, enabling the artist to lay a foundation for their tracks as well as a bevy of oscillators and filters. These synths were expensive and most of the youth in Chicago who spun records could not afford them.

So, in reality, House Music was born in the suburbs surrounding Chicago where to this day there is still a HUGE scene of kids producing and spinning House. This is part of where House got its name as well, being produced in houses all over Illinois. Others believe House got its name from the famous nightclub that hosted underground parties known as The Warehouse.

House combined elements of R and B, Blues, Disco, and Funk with a four-on-the-floor rhythm pattern. Producers sampled records from all of these genres whether it be the vocal take, a 4 bar sample of the beat, percussion, etc. After sampling, the producers would create their unique beats and breaks to make it House. Then all the elements were brought together and mixed in a sequencer. The tracks were influenced by mixing, producing and editing styles of DJs at the time. Larry Levan, Tom Mouton, and Frankie Knuckles are great examples of the House template and set the bar for all up and coming producers.

• Essential Mix: House – Frankie Knuckles Live at Pacha

READ ON for the rest of this edition of Wyllys and the World Party…

The Mike Gordon Band tour came through the Midwest this weekend for gigs in Chicago on Friday night and Madison on Saturday. We’ll have a full report on the Chicago show tomorrow morning. Today, we’ve got two interesting things to tell you about the Madison show. The first is that MGB guitarist Scott Murawski – who has been blogging about the tour – led the band through a cover of Cities by Talking Heads. Unlike Phish’s version of the tune, Mike and his band tackled the tune at the same tempo as the Heads…

Mike Gordon Band – Cities

During the setbreak of the Mike Band show on Saturday, the Phish bassist met another four-stringer named Mike Gordon from Wisconsin. This Mike Gordon is a real estate agent who owns the domain mikegordon.com. When Cactus contacted his doppelganger to purchase the domain five years ago he was denied but struck up a friendship with the man. The two finally met at the Madison show with Cactus giving the agent a nice shout out from the stage as per an AP article on the meeting…

“I just met the other me,” the musician said from stage. “He’s a bass player, not just a real estate broker. … When he put up his Web site people used to call him and say ‘Is this Mike Gordon?’ And he would say, ‘Yes’ and they would say, ‘Wow, I really like your bass playing.’ And he would say, ‘How does anyone know that I am a bass payer, that’s so cool.”‘

Mike and the band begin the home stretch of their tour tonight at the 20th Century Theatre in Cincinnati before heading to Ann Arbor for a show at the Blind Pig tomorrow. The tour concludes at Higher Ground on 10/4.

Rocktober begins later this week, and we’re gonna kick it off in style with a short, partial set from Led Zeppelin in the prime powerhouse year of 1969  – a sonic picture of a band ready to launch in a big way.

Another treat from the seemingly endless BBC archives, it’s a gig in Sweden from the quartet’s first Scandinavian tour, centering on a killer 10 minute Dazed and Confused. Turn it up loud, scare your neighbors, and enjoy!

I Can’t Quit You
I Gotta Move
Dazed and Confused
How Many More Times (cut)

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD STORMY MONDAYS

While this fall is loaded with a number of highly anticipated albums, the one that seems to have gathered the most buzz over the last few months has been I and Love and You the major label debut from North Carolina-based act The Avett Brothers – which hits stores tomorrow. Stories about this album have been unavoidable, due to the fact that uber-producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin lured the band over to his American Recordings label from their longtime home on Ramseur Records – where they independently put out an astonishing 12 releases – to produce their latest effort.

For long time fans of the band Rubin’s influence may come as a bit of a shock, as he’s moved them away from their brash punk-inspired bluegrass sound, to more lush, pop-infused high and lonesome folk-rock harmonies – crafting a great roots-rock record. Let’s check out the video for the album’s instantly likable title track…

The Avett Brothers, who have been touring relentlessly since early Spring, are currently on the road with a high profile stop scheduled at New York’s Terminal 5 on October 17.

Previously On HT:

• Review: Avett Brothers @ Sloss Furnace