Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Taj Mahal has been putting out albums full of his brand of blues music for over 40 years. Here’s Taj with a scorching version of Ain’t That A Lot Of Love from his appearance in the Rolling Stone’s 1968 concert flick Rock and Roll Circus
If you aren’t quite up for ringing in 2010 watching Jennifer Lopez perform on Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin Eve (ABC 10PM), which is hosted by Ryan Seacrest, check out VH1 Classic at Midnight for Rush in Rio. Shot at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro during the final concert on the Vapor Trails Tour, the Canadian trio plows through a setlist that spans the band’s entire career.
Monday, December 28 (All times ET)
Tuesday, December 29
Wednesday, December 30
Thursday, December 31
We’re saddened this Christmas Day by the news that singer Vic Chesnutt passed away at the age of 45 in Athens. For more on Chesnutt’s life and legacy, be sure to read the New York Times’ obit. We’d like to pay tribute to Vic by posting this video of Independence Day that Chesnutt and his band performed on a Vienna rooftop back in October 2008…
Vic Chesnutt – Independence Day
This week’s episode of Spectacle with Elvis Costello features legendary performers Nick Lowe, Levon Helm, Richard Thompson and Allen Toussaint participating in an all-star jam for the ages. You can catch an airing at 9PM on Sundance this Sunday.
[Photo via Bumpershine]
Friday, December 25 [all times Eastern]
Saturday, December 26
Sunday, December 27
With everyone probably counting down the minutes till the long weekend which will either include opening some Christmas presents or chowing down on some Chinese food followed by at least one movie this weekend, we wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays from all of us here at Hidden Track.
To keep everyone in the holiday spirit I’ve pulled together a batch of Christmas related links that would even get Santa to bring something to this Jew on Christmas, enjoy…
Finally, Christmas came a bit early for those who bought Julian Casablancas solo debut Phrazes For The Young
Our friends The Hue will be celebrating the New Year’s by opening three shows in the Midwest for Zappa tribute band Project/Object on January 1-3. To make it an even sweeter deal, former Zappa band members Ray White and Ike Willis will be fronting Project/Object at each show.
The run starts in Chicago on January 1st and 2nd for a pair of shows at Martyr’s before both bands head to The Miramar Theatre in Milwaukee for a performance on the 3rd. Don’t miss this fantastic double bill.
The pride of Buffalo, moe., released a fine Christmas album in 2002 called Seasons Greetings From moe. that still gets play on my trusty iPod. moe. recently busted out Together at Christmas for Warren Haynes’ Xmas Jam…
Before Beatlemania grabbed hold of Europe followed by America, The Beatles honed their skills in small clubs around the German city of Hamburg in the early ’60s. Blog Stoned has shared a reel-to-reel recording of The Beatles’ Hamburg Days from New Year’s Eve 1962 that previously made the rounds under “The Star Club” name. The quality leaves something to be desired, but it’s worth the free download to hear The Beatles’ formative days.
Here’s six more MP3 bootlegs to keep your iPod hummin’…
Ten years ago tonight, God Street Wine finished an exceptional three-night stand at the the Wetlands Preserve in New York City that marked the end of the line for the band as a going concern. Both the current band and former band members contributed to the action which led to more substitutions than your typical basketball game. GSW also welcomed a number of guests including longtime friends John Popper and Oteil Burbridge.
Each of the three shows were recorded for the 2000 release Good to the Last Drop which unfortunately suffers from sound issues. Audience recordings of the 21st and 22nd are available on the Live Music Archive and give a nice feel for how much love was projected at the band each night.
The first show started with an acoustic set from Lo, Aaron and Dan, who were joined by Bevo and Tomo for the final two songs of the set on 23rd. The absolute last song GSW played on the 23rd was an emotional Into The Mystic that sent everyone home with tears in their eyes. Hopefully one day soundboards of all three shows will surface because they all contain magical moments. READ ON for the setlists from all three shows…
Last Week’s Sauce features recordings of shows from the previous week.
[Thanks to archivalaudio for this week's photo]
Artist & Title: Boston Horns – Crosstown Traffic
Date & Venue: 2009-12-18 Strange Brew Tavern, Manchester NH
Taper & Show Download: corey the groundhog
Don’t see a lot of tapes for the Boston Horns show up on the Live Music Archive, so I was psyched to see this pop up this week. Their drummer, Peter MacLean, is an old friend of mine and can be seen all around Boston playing in various groups. The Boston Horns next play January 16th at Ryle’s Jazz Club in Cambridge.
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READ ON for a track from Brock Butler’s new record, Garaj Mahal, Greyboy Allstars, and a great sit-in with Yonrico Scott and Friends…
If you enjoy reading about the music biz, there’s no doubt you’ve come across the writing of Bob Lefsetz. Bob speaks his mind often on every aspect of the industry for the Lefsetz Letter – a newsletter and blog.
Even if you don’t agree with everything Lefsetz writes, you’ve got to appreciate the way he articulates his points and his vision of what the recording industry can become once the major labels ditch the old way of doing things and embrace the modern consumer.
In reading all of his missives for the last few years, I feel like I’ve gotten a feel for Bob Lefsetz as a person so I was heartbroken to see the title of his latest post – Leukemia. Bob was recently diagnosed with the disease and has opened up to his readership about his experience. Thankfully, the odds are in Lefsetz’s favor, we’d like to think he’s too ornery to go anytime soon. Get well soon, Bob, we can’t imagine the music biz without you.
Leave it to Jim James to take a song exclusively associated with the fictional cartoon band The Chipmunks and reinterpret it into something all his own. Back in 2007 the MMJ front man played The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) during his set at the Kidzapalooza Stage at Lollapolooza – if this doesn’t put you in the holiday spirit then I don’t know what will…
Living in Denver or Boulder provides one with a constant stream of live music options. People trade off most of those shows, however, when living in the Rockies. When shows do come through the area, travel is usually required.
Seeing the String Cheese Incident’s Kyle Hollingsworth in a tiny, intimate venue was easily worth the travel time and surpassed the expectations of almost everyone in attendance. Touring in support of his new album, Then There’s Now, The Kyle Hollingsworth Band came to Three20South in Breckenridge on their way back home to Boulder for an incredible evening of jazzy/funky, fusion.
The evening opened up with Ft. Collins’ Euforquestra. The reggae/funk jamband seemed to hold the interest of some of those in attendance although the music leaned towards the generic side, and at times grew quite stale. The set closed off with the title track of their new album, Soup, a nonsensical song used as a jam vehicle. The problem is that this doesn’t really work out too well when your jams all pretty much sound the same and the musical chops are average at best. While the music was fun and quirky at times, it was more or less relieving when the set was finished.
The headliner, on the other hand, was simply superb. With a top-notch band featuring Dave Watts (drums) and Garret Sayers (Bass) of The Motet, Kyle Hollingsworth was set to throw down an eclectic mix of covers, originals and Cheese songs for the near-capacity crowd. The show opened with an instrumental version of The Beatles’ Taxman. The up-tempo and extremely funky rendition of this timeless song set the tone for the night and the energy level was maintained the entire time. The highlight of the set came with Galactic sandwiching Zuco 103’s Peregrino. The 30-minute jam went all over the place musically and featured sit-ins from several members of Euforquestra before closing out the set.
READ ON for more of Jason’s thoughts & photos on the Kyle Band…
Have you ever asked either yourself or somebody else why they stomach the time-bandit commutes and exorbitant rents to live in New York City? Well, get a load of this random New York City moment.
[Photo from The Music Slut's Fanfarlo review]
Just before Fanfarlo took to the Webster Hall stage on Friday night, they opened the show with a crowd pleasing something extra – something BIG. The show commenced with a man being harnessed in a straitjacket and hoisted upside-down via the lighting rig, high above the stage. The band came on stage to wild applause and tore into probably their best song The Walls are Coming Down while the magician wriggled an amazing escape before the song closed to thunderous applause.
Now here’s where the funny New York saga comes into to play. As my wife and I watched this magician’s face turn tomato-red and the arteries bulge from his forehead as he struggled to escape, she says “Oh my God, that’s our friend with the parrot from our building. We totally know him.” At first, we couldn’t believe it, but she was right. This magician actually lives in our building and I confirmed it in the elevator the following day. He regularly sits out front on the stoop with a giant white parrot and chats amicably with all of the neighbors. So, in the spirit of surprise, we decided to conduct a quick chat later that day regarding the awesome feat.
READ ON for more from Ryan on Fanfarlo at Webster Hall…
Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia made a couple of appearances on Late Night with David Letterman in the ’80s without their Grateful Dead band mates. For Bob and Jer’s October 13, 1989 visit they decided to perform Second That Emotion backed by members of Late Night’s house band including Paul Shaffer and Will Lee. Here’s a clip from that afternoon’s rehearsal…
Weir, Garcia & the Late Night Band – Second That Emotion (Practice)
