Well, the first annual Nateva Festival starts Friday in Oxford, ME and we’ll be honest – we weren’t sure this festival would happen at all after a number of permitting and camping issues. Yet, we’re glad to see everything seems to have worked out. Today’s Sun Journal includes a great article about the red carpet the businesses of Oxford are rolling out for event attendees. We’ll have plenty of photos and news from Nateva in the coming days.

We’re still awaiting the schedule for Camp Bisco 9, which takes place at the Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville, NY on July 15 – 17, but the event’s producers did release an artists schedule by day this morning. Popular DJs Pretty Lights (Thurs.), Bassnectar (Fri.) and Girl Talk (Sat.) will spin in between main stage sets with LCD Soundsystem coming on directly after PL. 3-day passes for CB9 are still available for $155.

The schedule for All Good 2010 has been finalized and as usual there are no conflicts as no two bands perform at the same time. All Good takes place at Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, WV on July 8 – 11. 3-day and 4-passes are expected to sell out by the start of the festival, so if you’re in for All Good pick up your tickets now or you may be shut out.

Rush’s Time Machine Tour started last night at the Hard Rock Pavilion in Albuquerque, NM, where the prog rock pioneers filled two lengthy sets with classics, rarities and 1981′s Moving Pictures in its entirety to open set two. We’ll hold off on posting details about the rarities that are part of the setlist until after the jump for those who don’t want their Rush experience spoiled as the band tends to stick to the same setlist at each stop on the tour.

[via Rush.com]

You can always count on Rush to have an interesting setup and for this tour they’ve added a cool H.G. Wells-looking Time Machine to the stage. It also appears as if drummer Neil Peart has added even more pieces to his ridiculously large drum kit. As with past tours, each set begins with a video and here’s the clip that introduces Tom Sawyer for set two…

READ ON for the complete Time Machine Tour setlist…

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is the title track from the 1998 Neutral Milk Hotel indie classic. Such a classic that Pitchfork gave it a perfect 10.0. Well, they gave the reissue a perfect 10. Some call it the most important indie album of all-time, only a select few super-hip fans of the genre wouldn’t put it in a Top 5 list, though saying that Neutral Milk Hotel is overrated is also popular. Point is, if you didn’t know of this band, album or song until Phish covered it last week – go buy it and listen to it over and over again.

The Contestants:

Fanfarlo: This London-based ensemble released this video on their official YouTube page for something they have called their “laptop sessions”.

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

For a guy who was not all that long ago described as “semi-retired,” Bill Kreutzmann seems to be everywhere these days. No sooner did his BK3 trio peter out than a new band with Papa Mali, 7 Walkers – a fierce little unit spawned from a place where psychedelic Dead meets the spiciest, unruliest New Orleans funk and R&B – came to the fore.

[Photos by Andy Hill]

And wouldn’t you know it, neither unit will be Kreutzmann’s main focus this summer. That’d be the Rhythm Devils – Kreutzmann and brother in arms Mickey Hart – back on the road with a retooled lineup that features percussionist and longtime associate Sikiru Adepoju, as well as Keller Williams, singular as ever, bass ace and former Gov’t Mule anchor Andy Hess, and, most intriguingly, Back Door Slam frontman and shredder Davy Knowles.

Hidden Track briefly caught up with Kreutzmann as the Rhythm Devils tour prepares to get underway.

HIDDEN TRACK: You’ve got so much going on at the moment and plenty of projects, from Rhythm Devils to 7 Walkers. What’s top priority these days?

BILL KREUTZMANN: Right now it’s Rhythm Devils, 100 percent. I’m just focusing on that. I like to focus on one band at a time.

HT: Fair enough. You have a new and interesting lineup for Rhythm Devils, for which I guess Davy Knowles is the wild card. Can you talk a little bit about how you and Mickey put this lineup together?

BK: Well, it’s true, when playing with different musicians, the more people you play with it, the fresher it makes it. The driving force in the Rhythm Devils — from the Devils, meaning me and Mickey, — is to have new players. The one we work with all the time is Sikiru, he’s a master drummer from Nigeria, but the new energy with different people is exciting. I’m looking forward to rehearsal.

READ ON for more of our interview with Bill Kreutzmann…

We’re taking a bit of a detour today from the world of music to give a plug to Amuse Bouche the new web series created by by former MTV Boiling Points instigator, and fellow Phish fanatic Jonathan Blitt. The series follows the mis-adventures of the slightly obnoxious and bumbling French chef Andre Charboneaux, hilariously played by Blitt, as he looks to land a gig on the Food Network. Let’s check out this episode entitled Truffles In Paradise…

Amuse Bouche – Truffles In Paradise, Pt. 1

Jukebox Tour #2 continued in Canandaigua, NY this evening, where Phish debuted a cover of The Beatles’ I Am The Walrus. The quartet usually performs at Darien when visiting Western New York, but this year – for the first time since the memorable Fleezer show in 1995 – the band returned to the Constellation Brands Performing Arts Center.

When looking at the distance between stops on Phish’s Summer Tour, tonight’s gig stood out as a major pain in the ass for fans attempting to see the whole run. Somehow those out of the way shows always have a way of providing a rarity of some sort and in this case it was the Beatles’ cover. I Am The Walrus wasn’t new to one member of the band – Trey Anastasio performed the Lennon/McCartney tune with his infamous 70 Volt Parade ensemble 18 times in 2005. The Phish version of I Am The Walrus featured an intense psychedelic jam that somehow worked its way into Weekapaug.

06/29/2010 CMAC Performing Arts Center

Set 1: The Connection, Down with Disease, Sample in a Jar, Ocelot, Reba, Horn, Funky Bitch, Undermind, The Ballad of Curtis Loew, David Bowie

Set 2: Possum, Mike’s Song > Simple > I Am The Walrus[1] > Weekapaug Groove, Limb By Limb, Joy, Harry Hood, Golgi Apparatus

Encore: First Tube

[1] Phish debut.

This show featured the Phish debut of I Am The Walrus.

[via Phish.net]

The Connection opener and I Am The Walrus were the only tour debuts of the evening after a performance full of them in Maryland on Sunday. Yet, Phish delivered one fan favorite after another in Canandaigua including Harry Hood, Reba, Mike’s Song and Down With Disease – as well as another Curtis Loew cover – to the delight of fans. In what’s becoming a Tuesday night tradition, the group encored with First Tube. Phish heads south to the Time Warner Cable Mus…I can’t even type that. Walnut Creek – Phish Tour moves on to Walnut Creek in Raleigh, NC on Thursday night.

A star-studded lineup featuring many of the best guitarists in the world gathered at Toyota Park outside of Chicago this past Saturday for Eric Clapton’s third Crossroads Guitar Festival.

The marathon 11-hour concert included sets from Sonny Landreth, Robert Randolph, Robert Cray, Bert Jansch, Stefan Grossman, ZZ Top, Doyle Bramhall II joined by Gary Clark & Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill joined by Albert Lee, James Burton, & Keb’ Mo’, Citizen Cope, Earl Klugh, John Mayer, Buddy Guy with Johnny Lang, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band joined by Warren Haynes, Sheryl Crow, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rojas, & Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton with Stevie Winwood and B.B. King.

If you didn’t make it out to Chicago for the festival, you can still watch a truncated version of the event at one of 475 theaters nationwide at 7:30PM on July 27th. Performances by Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, emcee Bill Murray and others will be part of the movie. Tickets are available at theater box offices and online at www.fathomevents.com. Rhino plans to release a DVD/Blu-Ray edition of the film on November 8.

For more on this year’s Crossroads event, be sure to check out Jon Pareles’ review for the New York Times or Greg Kot’s review for the Chicago Tribune. READ ON for Clapton’s setlist from the Crossroads Guitar Fest…

Over the last few years Rilo Kiley has taken a backseat to front woman Jenny Lewis’ solo career. The ever adorable Lewis, who has put out two records on her own, has unveiled the details of her latest side-project dubbed Johnny & Jenny – which is a collaboration with her longtime boyfriend singer-songwriter Jonathan Rice. The duo, who will release their debut later this year, will hit the road in September for a month-long tour that includes two high profile dates opening for ’90s alt.rock act Pavement.

If you’re not into a night with the indie-rock sweethearts, than maybe you’ll be interested in hitting one of these recently announced tours…

• Tom Tom Club to head out in support of their new album
• Former GnR guitarist Slash adds a US leg to his world tour
• Literate-punk rockers Titus Andronicus stay busy in the fall
• Bob Dylan announces his first US dates of 2010
• Porcupine Tree and Coheed & Cambria head out together
• UK act The xx cross the pond to hit the theater circuit

Finally, last month Those Darlins were forced to cancel their Australian tour when Nikki Darlin, who happens to be married to John McCauley of Deer Tick,  broke two bones in her left arm while running through a field. With Nikki on the road to recovery, the country-punk band, who put on a raucous live show, have announced the details for their fall tour which will kick off on September 8 at the Bottletree in Birmingham, AL.

God Street Wine: Spinal Tap Set – 10/31/1998 [stream] [download]

God Street Wine turned it up to 11 on a Halloween night in 1998 when they took the stage of Chicago’s House of Blues as the one and only Spinal Tap. GSW kicked off the night with a rousing Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight and continued to Tap into the Halloweeen spirit as they delivered such timeless classics as Hell Hole, Big Bottom and a roof raising closer of Stonehenge.

No midgets, artifacts or drummers were injured during the set of this fantastic show! This is one to be heard without a doubt. Yet another reminder of just why God Street Wine was one of the best and most fun live shows you could ever catch. Enjoy this one!

For more from Don, check out his blog – The Great Southern Brainfart.

Welcome to back to Strange Brew our monthly column dedicated to – as you probably have already guessed – beer. Each month, we’ll take a close look at a new or notable brew, or just one we think you should be drinking.

When you think of Boston and craft beer the first name that probably pops into your head is the ubiquitous Beantown institution and craft beer pioneer Samuel Adams, who have been around since 1984 and are now the largest American-owned brewery.

Following not too far behind though were the folks at Harpoon, who have been at it since 1986 and at the time became the first company to obtain a permit to manufacture and sell alcohol in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in over 25 years. Starting out with its flagship Harpoon Ale, the brewery has offered up a variety of year-round, seasonals, an entire line of unfiltered beers, as well as their limited release 100 Barrel and Leviathan series.

Now for the first time in their 26 year history Harpoon has decided to enter the ever growing world of craft canned beers, by offering up two of their signature brews – their Summer Beer and IPA – in a limited run of 12-packs this summer. READ ON for more of this month’s Strange Brew…

Furthur’s Summer Tour started last Friday night at the Highland Bowl Amphitheatre in Rochester, NY and continued with two shows in Coney Island on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday evening’s performance was heavy on tunes from the Grateful Dead’s eighth studio album, Blues For Allah, including Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower. Check out this clip featuring Slipknot! and Franklin’s that was shot by our friend LazyLightning55…

Phil, Bobby and the rest of the band head to Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA tonight for a sold-out show that will be broadcast live on Sirius’ Grateful Dead radio. READ ON for each of the setlists from the first three gigs of Furthur Summer Tour 2010…

Wade Ellis Wilby presents Hidden Track Storytellers. This is a creative writing workshop for fiction and nonfiction stories & poetry inspired by music. This second piece was inspired by Dwight Yoakam’s Since I Started Drinking Again and is dedicated to the memory of Brad Robinson. Wade encourages you to get creative with the melody rather than focusing on Yoakam’s…

Well Brad, after five Phish shows and countless nights of recalling our great times, it’s finally time to let you go. It’s time for you to rest in peace. For those of you who don’t know who Brad Robinson was, he road managed PGroove for some time, helped run Phantasy Tour and was an avid music fan.

One thing about Brad, he could drink anyone I knew under the table and then some. The joy he gave to so many people could never be measured. We had some amazing nights. It’s time to let them be given back to the universe so that he may rest in peace. I wrote this song for Brad to send him on his way to the next plane of existence. Not going to lie, I stole the title from Dwight Yoakam and thought DY’s lyrics sucked and the idea of the liberation of a good bender made me think of Brad. I’ll never forget the happiness he gave me everytime I saw him. I love you forever and always, Brad. This song is for you.

Since I Started Drinking Again

since i started drinking again
no night is the same.
there’s always a scene
i need to erase
from past life pain.

since i started drinking again
you’re gone for good.
when i’d broken down
you got up and left
like i knew you would.

since i started drinking again
i listen so deep.
all night trips through
my vinyl collection
have rocked me to sleep.

since i started drinking again
i’m smiling a lot.
each trip to the bar
is a funeral for
the friends I forgot.

habit and sanity meet at their ends
since i started drinking again.

since i started drinking again
i’m walking much more.
out in the night
a stumbling salesman
destroyed at your door.

since i started drinking again
i’m writing new songs.
some are plain angry
most tell a story
of where hurt belongs.

since i started drinking again
he called it a day.
i got the phone call
early next morning
then drank him away.

since i started drinking again
I’m a country tune.
A tear in my beer
halfway to Tucson
girl, I’ll call you soon.

its happening more than I’d like to pretend
since I started drinking again.

I raise this last bottle to you my friend.
since I started drinking again.

Artist Jess Pfohl will exhibit her work in her hometown of Baltimore from Noon to 2AM on July 24th at the Hard Rock Cafe on 610 East Pratt Street. HT faves Some Cat From Japan, Tom Hamilton’s American Babies and Wyllys are just three of the eight acts who will perform throughout the day at this free POP Rocks! exhibit. Eric McFadden, Navillus and Baltimore bands RAKKASAN, Tek Sub Port, Dinosaur Project are also on the bill.

Jess plans to debut 8 7-foot painted rock photographs shot by photog Michael Weintrob, which are inspired by American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker Andy Warhol and his Factory.

Here’s a quick look at six other stories of note…

• iClips offers pay-per-views of every 2010 SCI show
• Jambands.com recaps Panic at Red Rocks weekend
• Police arrested 21 at the Phish shows at Merriweather
• Denver’s Kinetix makes a rare trip to the east next week
• JamBase previews Nateva and the High Sierra festivals
• Weezer collaborates with Ryan Adams for their new LP

Finally, for those heading down to Asbury Park for moe. on Sunday night, don’t miss out on what looks to be an incredible afterparty across town at Chico’s House of Jazz. Labeled “The Inception of THE DEETS,” this super-group features Todd Isler of the Mike Gordon Band on drums, AGP and Matisyahu’s Rob Marscher on keys, John Leccese of AOD on bass and BJ Willis on guitar. Tickets run $10 and are available through the venue’s website.

Nonesuch recording artist Punch Brothers performed Rye Whiskey from their latest album, Antifogmatic, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 17th. NBC airs a repeat broadcast of the episode featuring the Punch Brothers this Thursday night at 11:35PM EDT/PDT.

Monday, June 28 [all times Eastern]

• David Letterman: Tokyo Police Club [CBS 11:35PM]
• Jay Leno: OK Go [NBC 11:35PM]
• Jimmy Fallon: Mike McCready w/ The Roots [NBC 12:35AM]
• Carson Daly: Fanfarlo [NBC 1:35AM]

Tuesday, June 29

• Rolling Stones: Let’s Spend The Night… [Palladia 3PM]
• Jay Leno: Macy Gray [NBC 11:35PM]
• Craig Ferguson: Sharon Jones [CBS 12:35AM]
• Carson Daly: the Raveonettes [NBC 1:35AM]

Wednesday, June 30

• Behind The Music: Def Leppard [VH1Classic 7PM]
• Dave Letterman: New Pornographers [CBS 11:35PM]
• Jimmy Fallon: Mumford & Sons [NBC 12:35AM]
• Carson Daly: Snoop Dogg [NBC 1:35AM]

Thursday, July 1

• Freddie Mercury: Tribute Concert [VH1C 3PM]
• Jay Leno: Punch Brothers [NBC 11:35PM]
• Jimmy Kimmel: Korn [ABC Midnight]
• Carson Daly: Los Campesinos! [NBC 1:35AM]

Phish @ Susquehanna Bank Center, June 24

Phish, continuing its 2010 summer tour, spent the first of two nights in Camden, NJ in a laid-back & playful mood. Kicking things off with David Bowie, the fans were sure that Phish was going to have fun that night. Starting off with one of the more compositionally challenging songs of the Phish canon, Trey Anastasio spent the first couple minutes keeping to himself – luckily his deep concentration resulted in a near-flawless execution of the bouncy lines he’d written decades ago. A false vocal start during Water In The Sky had Trey & Page light-heartedly poking fun at themselves. A refreshing Uncle Pen showed Mike having a blast, especially during his bass solo.

Following a Boogie On Reggae Woman that was the first real dance breakdown number of the evening (including two foot-bell calls from Mike), were a whole slew of much anticipated songs. Of note were the concise Gumbo, the dark Timber, and a speedy Birds of a Feather. Welcoming the audience to the concert, Trey took an opportunity before Fishman stole the limelight in I Didn’t Know to discuss his prediction at last year’s Camden show that the Philadelphia Flyers would win the Stanley cup. Having not won this year, Trey let the audience knew that Fishman would play a “voodoo” solo to “summon the spirit of the beast” and “guarantee” a Flyers victory in the future.

An energized crowd started a “Let’s Go Flyers!” chant that led to an impromptu call-and-response with Fishman’s vacuum solo – a special treat indeed for Phish fans. A seemingly long first set (13 songs) featured an unexpected Reba and concluded with the classic Led Zeppelin tune, The Rover. As the band began the scorching classic-rock ode, confused fans turned to one another asking “Is this a Zeppelin song?” The song featured melodic riffs and multiple sections brimming with fluid chord changes. Page took the helm at lead vocals and pushed the top of his range in a stunning performance, pleading “If we could just join hands!” during the song’s chorus.

READ ON for more of Balaji’s photos and thoughts…