You say you can’t wait till the summer to get your music festival fix in? Well you’re in luck as the Harvest Of Hope Fest will once again give an early kick start to the 2010 season when it returns to the St. John’s Fairgrounds in sunny St. Augustine, FL from March 12-14. Now in its second year, the multi-day fest has revealed its initial line up which features the likes of Billy Bragg, Dr. Dog, Rogue Wave, Delta Spirit, Dead Confederate and many more.
The tickets for the Harvest Of Hope Fest, which helps to raise awareness and provide financial support for the Harvest of Hope Foundation – a charity organization that aids migrant farm workers across America, are on sale now.
If you can’t make it to Florida for what looks like a great weekend of music, than maybe you’ll be able to hit one of these recently announced tours…
Finally, as we previously reported, after a decade-long hiatus, Lilith Fair will make its return to amphitheaters around the country this summer. After revealing an impressive initial roster of talent. organizers have added more marquee names to the bill include Norah Jones, Cat Power, Heart, Loretta Lynn & The Gossip. These new acts will join the likes of Sheryl Crow, Tegan & Sara, Emmylou Harris, Indigo Girls and event founder Sarah McLachlan.
The HT Staff was so smitten with The Avett Brothers major label debut I & Love & You that it took home the number one spot on our first annual Top 25 Album list. The North Carolina-based act will hit the road for a lengthy world tour that kicks off on February 24 at the Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Ohio University, but before all that, let’s check out the tongue-in-cheek video for Slight Figure Of Speech…
Jam titans Widespread Panic have announced the next installment of their Porch Songs series of archival releases which will feature two entire shows played at Paolo Soleri in Santa Fe, NM on June 19 & 20, 2001.
Unlike the regular Widespread Panic Archives releases, Porch Songs compilations are derived from two-track recordings “warts and all.” And there were quite a few warts with the original recordings including digital noise issues, seemingly cracking guitar amps, horrendous weather and a missing verse of Porch Song on June 19. Yet, the WSP archives team did an admirable job of fixing this issues and even patched in an audience recording to make sure we don’t miss a second of that Porch Song.
Each show only costs $7.99 for MP3s or $9.99 for FLACs. Let’s encourage the band to keep these releases coming at such a fast pace by purchasing one or both of these shows. Head to the Widespread Panic Archives blog for more information on Santa Fe 2001 from WSP archivist Horace Moore.
The Justice Department has approved the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger after a year-long investigation. While we’d usually greet such a seemingly anti-competitive decision with anger and animosity, the Justice Department has thrown in a few conditions to their approval which gives us a little hope that this won’t be the worst thing to ever happen to concertgoers.
Not only does the new company have to sell one of its ticketing divisions but it must license its software to a competitor. It’s quite possible these divestitures will ensure that there are two formidable competitors to Live Nation/TM’s throne. Also, LN/TM will be subject to “tough anti retaliation provisions” for the next 10 years that “aim to prevent abuse of its powers over concert tours, artist management, ticketing and theaters.” [NYT]
These conditions seem like a good start, but we’ve got a few others we’d like to see the Department of Justice make the new company observe…
Ticketmaster/Live Nation promises not to refer to exorbitant fees as “convenience charges” anymore
Ticketmaster/Live Nation promises not to re-direct customers to one of their in-house scalpers for instantly sold-out shows
TM/LN promises not to sell any more Creed or Nickelback tickets
TM/LN promises to entertain customers with a joke while we wait 15 minutes to see if tickets are available to a high-demand event
TM/LN promises not to add “Oxygen Usage Fee” to ticket prices
TM/LN promises to make water bottle caps available at all venues
TM/LN promises to stop charging for “the right” to print your own tickets
TM/LN promises to print the actual price you paid on the ticket
TM/LN promises to stop killing puppies & pushing seniors down stairs
Thanks to Ace for the assist. What other conditions do you think should be added to the agreement? Let us know by leaving a comment…
moe. impressed this past Friday night with a guest-laden benefit show at the Roseland Ballroom that kicked off the band’s 20th Anniversary Tour. I attended the show with HT/Glide’s Chad Berndtson and Chad put together a fun list of 10 Great Moments From moe.’s WHY Benefit for Glide.
[All photos by Jeremy Gordon]
My favorite guest of the evening was Marco Benevento. Chad explains why…
8. The Marco effect
Every guest except Sanborn saw one or more of their originals or regular songs get a full-on moe treatment, for example, and a reading of Marco’s “The Real Morning Party” was a subversive delight. Not really collaborative in the sense of the moe guys soloing over a Marco groove, but rather moe as Marco’s backing band for a stretch: the heat of a full band behind the zany keyboardist, and a band that also had clear respect and admiration for the song. Later, Marco had another “Marco moment”: he took hold of Blue Jeans Pizza and shook it up, yielding something that split the difference between circa 2003 Duo jazz-rock and the meatier end of rock ‘n’ roll moe. Marco was the night’s MVP, counting guests and members of moe., and he made his presence felt everywhere.
Be sure to read Chad’s article for the rest of the list. We’ve got the rest of Jeremy’s stunning photos from Friday night so READ ON for the gallery…
Compassion is a luxury to those that can’t afford it. Tucked away, far away, in the back of one’s life, is the idea that what drives, what motivates, is the survival instinct. It is in the basic fundamental building blocks of most life forms on this rock, and it certainly digs into the heart of man. We wake up, we breathe in and out, and we seek food and shelter, and then? What next? Ahh…that depends on the person, right? Nurture? Nature?
And what if one is focused on some sort of self-centered, narrow-minded set of goals? Does it truly limit, or does it make one merely a well-educated creature, barely living like some sort of half-mad monster? We dig into the deep recesses of the human soul, pondering these expensive questions, in this week’s Hidden Flick, Tsotsi.
Filmed in South Africa, directed by Gavin Hood, from a novel written by Athol Fugard, which Hood adapted for the cinema, and winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, this dramatic story of one man’s redemption has been chosen because a) I believe that despite its international accolades, most people in the West have not seen it, nor relate to its premise, b) it is an unsentimental definition of a spiritual rags to riches tale, and c) the level of compassion achieved by the lead character is quite astounding after one witnesses the evil at the root of his soul in the opening sequences. READ ON for more on this week’s Hidden Flick, Tsotsi…
A number of incredible videos from Bustle In Your Hedgerow’s most recent show at Brooklyn Bowl have been uploaded to YouTube by our pal Sunil. Just watch as Scott Metzger tears the ever living shit out of Heartbreaker…
On paper there is nothing cool about Vampire Weekend. They’re four Ivy League graduates that play indie-pop music inspired by African rhythms and guitar with lyrics full of literary references, visits to foreign countries and summers spent in New England on records put out by a small UK-based label. With barely two-dozen songs in their catalog, these fresh-faced early 20-somethings have managed a meteoric rise in a just a few short years selling close to half a million copies of their infectious self-titled debut, and more recently dropping their sophomore effort Contra on January 12.
[All Photos By Jeremy Gordon]
Last week Ezra Koening & Co. returned to New York City, playing their first proper hometown headlining shows since December of 2008 taking over three different size venues over the course of three nights. VW played a 3,000+ person theater, a mid-size and small club – all of which sold out within minutes. The second of their mini-NYC tour brought them to the historic Webster Hall – a venue that these splits time between hosting concerts and dance parties – located in a nebulous area between Manhattan’s Union Square and East Village.
Decorated with a giant backdrop that featured the cover art for Contra, Vampire Weekend strolled onto the stage shortly after 10 PM to the strains of DJ Kool’s club anthem Let Me Clear My Throat, before launching straight into the synth-y, drum machine laced White Sky to the roar of a packed house of enthusiastic fans – many of which, from eavesdropped conversations, were college classmates with the foursome. Over the next hour and change the band ran through almost every song in their repertoire as the floor bounced and pulsed from the dancing and pogo-ing masses.
READ ON for more of my thoughts and Jeremy’s fantastic pictures…
Genesis fans around the globe were getting extremely excited for the band’s upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mainly for the chance to see former lead singer Peter Gabriel with his old mates. Unfortunately, Gabriel has told Rolling Stone that he won’t sing at the ceremony.
In fact, Petey Gabes isn’t even sure he’s going to attend. We sure hope Gabriel reconsiders and embraces the spirit of the ceremony by performing.
Let’s take a quick look at six other stories of note…
Finally, Matador Records will release Quarantine The Past: The Best of Pavement on March 9 just in time for the start of the indie-rock legends’ reunion tour. The tracklist includes the most accessible songs from the group’s albums as well as a few random selections such as Unseen Power of the Picket Fence from the No Alternative compilation.
Fresh off their successful two-night stand at Roseland, moe. has just announced that they will play two sets tomorrow night at Brooklyn Bowl. Doors open at 6 and the show is at 9PM. Tickets will run you $25 and will only be available at the door. We suggest you get there early.
Over the last few years, bands like Animal Collective, MGMT and Amazing Baby have been combing the acid-drenched sounds of the 1960′s San Fran ballroom bands, and those of the LA’s 1980′s Paisley Underground for a new breed of psychedelic music. Among this new crop bands – that seem to attract both hipsters and hippies – is the Brooklyn-via-Baltimore act Yeasayer, who take the aforementioned influences and blend them through Middle Eastern and African sounds which at times brings to mind The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows and early Jane’s Addiction.
The band, who will release their much buzzed about - and justly so – sophomore effort Odd Blood on February 9, will mark the occasion with a pair of hometown album release gigs at the Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall Of Williamsburg on consecutive nights. Let’s check out the weird and trippy video for the album’s first single Ambling Alp…
I guess the members of Phish aren’t into spending too much time off the road these days, as we’ve got a second band member hitting the road this winter. Phish bassist Mike Gordon has just announced an eight show run with his solo band that kicks off on March 5 at the tiny Revolution Hall in Troy, NY. Tickets for all eight shows are currently on-sale now through a real-time fan pre-sale at mikegordontickets.rlc.net.
The tour will take Mike’s band through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states for stops at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT (3/6); the Sherman Theatre in Stroudsburg, PA (3/7); Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD (3/9); the Jefferson Theatre in Charlottesville, VA (3/11); Philadelphia’s Theatre of the Living Arts (3/12); Pearl Street in Northampton, MA (3/13) and the Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, NH (3/14). The presale ends on Friday at 5PM EST.
Last night at the Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, Radiohead threw down a mix of classics and newer songs for devoted – and heavy-pocketed – fans who paid at least $475 per ticket to attend the show. Towards the end of the show, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke announced that the concert had raised $572,754 for Oxfam International’s work in Haiti.
The Brits kicked off their second encore with the full band debut of Lotus Flower, a tune Yorke had performed at solo shows. There were plenty of older songs played including Radiohead classics National Anthem, Karma Police and Everything In Its Right Place. Radiohead has been in L.A. to record a new album and took time off from that process to help raise money for Haiti. In other RH news, Peter Gabriel recently announced that the band will cover one of his songs, Wallflower, as part of a song exchange.
Let’s take a look at last night’s setlist… [via URB]
Set: Faust Arp, Fake Plastic Trees, Arpeggi, National Anthem, Nude, Karma Police, Kid A, Morning Bell, How To Disappear Completely, Wolf at the Door, The Bends, Reckoner, Lucky, Body Snatchers, Dollars & Cents, Airbag, Exit Music (For a Film)
Encore #1: Everything In Its Right Place, You and Whose Army?, Pyramid Song, All I Need
Encore #2: Lotus Flower, Paranoid Android, Street Spirit
One of the many musical highlights from Friday night’s Hope For Haiti Now telethon was a simply stunning version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah done by Justin Timberlake and his new protege Matt Morris. Despite his calling for a moratorium on new covers of his signature song, we think that even Mr. Cohen would approve of this version. Take a listen…
Get your studded gloves out and put your best sneer on for Biography’s profile of Billy Idol on Thursday at 11PM. From the creepy White Wedding video to his motorcycle accident to his cameo in The Wedding Singer, Idol certainly has had a long and unique career and is worthy of closer look.
Monday, January 25 [all times Eastern]
Film: Tapeheads [IFC 2:35PM]
The Police: BBC Crown Jewels [VH1 Classic 4PM]
Freddie Mercury: The Tribute Concert [VH1 Classic 5PM]
that it took home the number one spot on our first annual 
debut, and more recently dropping their sophomore effort 
on January 12.
on February 9, will mark the occasion with a pair of hometown album release gigs at the Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall Of Williamsburg on consecutive nights. Let’s check out the weird and trippy video for the album’s first single Ambling Alp…
