In a story that we’re sure won’t get as much play as the Jones Beach Jumper, two incredible organizations founded and operated by Phish fans – The Mockingbird Foundation and The Mimi Fishman Foundation – have announced today that they have raised and distributed a combined $1,000,000 for charity. Not only should each board member of those organizations be extremely proud of themselves, but so should every Phish fan that has contributed to these most worthy causes.

Unlike many non-profits, both foundations are run on an all-volunteer basis with no salaries, paid staff or offices. As such, you can rest assured that nearly all of the money collected goes right to the people who need it.

Here’s more on each organization…

The Mockingbird Foundation was organized in 1996, by Craig DeLucia and a dozen other fans, to raise funds for music education for children through the publication of an encyclopedic book about Phish and its music. Expanding its efforts to include the cultivation and distribution of Phish-related intellectual property more generally, the Foundation has published two editions of a 900-page book, released a double-disc tribute album, produced a variety of tour-friendly merchandise, and re-launched the Phish.net website as a comprehensive database with a dozen mobile extensions. As a result of these efforts, as well as direct donations, the Mockingbird Foundation has been able to fund 193 grants (in 42 states) totaling over $613,000.

The Mimi Fishman Foundation was organized in 1998, by Mimi Fishman (mother of Phish drummer Jon Fishman) and family friend David Shulman, to raise funds for vision-related charities through online auctions of Phish-donated memorabilia. While expanding its focus of charitable giving to include women, children, and animal-related charities, the Foundation also expanded its musical reach by receiving donated auction items from other bands, including The String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Umphrey’s McGee. The Mimi Fishman Foundation has administered over 30 online auctions resulting in grants being made to 38 organizations totaling over $390,000. [Press Release]

Phish fans don’t exactly have the best reputation and these two foundations show that there’s much more to the fanbase than drugs and suicidal leaps. There are plenty of ways to contribute to each organization including bidding in a Mimi Fishman Foundation auction, buying the Phanatic iPhone app or donating money directly to each foundation’s coffers.

Atlantic City is from the 1982 Bruce Springsteen solo release Nebraska. The tune went through a grand reworking in 2006 when Bruce toured with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour which you can see at the bottom of this piece.

The Contestants:

Without a doubt the most famous cover of Atlantic City was done by The Band for their 1993 album Jericho.

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

The latest installment of Widespread Panic’s Porch Songs series of 2-track sourced archival releases features every note of music from the group’s first headlining appearance at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO on May 31, 1996. Since that initial appearance, Widespread Panic has played the legendary venue 38 more times making Red Rocks third on the list of venues who have hosted the band the most times after Athens’ Uptown Lounge and Georgia Theatre.

Porch Songs Volume 6 comes from an interesting era in the band’s evolution. Widespread Panic had gained a solid foothold in Colorado and after an extremely successful Sit N Ski tour earlier in the year was ready to headline Red Rocks. This show took place just weeks before the band went to John Keane’s studio to record Bombs and Butterflies and features plenty of material from that LP including Glory, Rebirtha, Tall Boy and Aunt Avis. Highlights include an exceptional Holden Oversoul, sweet jams after Walkin’ and Diner as well as a Chilly Water sandwich with a Aunt Avis filling.

This installment continues a trend of focusing on 1996 and 1997 for archival releases with two multi-track releases coming from that period and five of eight shows released as Porch Songs coming from that era. Porch Songs Volume 6 is available now through LiveWidespreadPanic.com for $7.99 (MP3s) and $9.99 (FLACs). You can also purchase a physical copy on CD for $23. Check out archivist Horace Moore’s blog entry for more on this release.

window, n., a “window of opportunity” implies a favorable time; sometimes refers to a reserved area of memory.

Restart Riget. Roll camera. Take #2.

Wicked insanity…wandering, always wandering down the halls through the hidden catacombs of these theatres of the mind, trailing off from Belgium, and back to Denmark, and back into the rooms from whence we came, looking out into the universe, inside and out, beyond the Window, la Ventana of the soul, beyond Time and Space, as we slide into a concluding glance at the final four hours of a two-part Danish television series.

One is forced to think about man’s place in the universe and why, incredibly, one truly needs to forget all of the philosophical adventures and “What does it all mean?” ignorant posturing, and just get on with Life…even if there are ghosts in your hospital. Enlightenment and Immortality aren’t goals; they are merely signposts on the path towards the Kingdom. We have come so far on this strange film expedition, but also appear as humble psychic urchins on a little celluloid adventure. To view the universe inside out? To see the Kingdom through the eyes of a child? Ahh…but, we are talking about a truly fucked-up place in this week’s Hidden Flick, Riget II.

Trapped in Space–Part II~>

~ – fully-segmented; teases of past and future excerpts dropped into the present edition, a Hidden Flick mashup circling overhead, while wandering in place, and gazing upon a request, a sign written in Greek, translated into English, outside the Theatre window:

“DIGRESSATORY DELAY LOOP JAM”

Created by Lars von Trier, and co-directed by the controversial filmmaker and Morten Arnfred, the eight-part Danish television series from 1994 (Part I) and 1997 (Part II), ventured into the realm of ghosts, noodle illness, terminal diseases, the mentally challenged as sage storytellers, and a fixation on demented weirdness for its own sake. You know—your usual banquet of essential ingredients for a Flick in Season 4 of our little romp through the international cinematic wormhole of movie madness. Oh, and, as mentioned, the gloves are off—sometimes, these editions will feature work that is covered on the small screen, albeit on a very wide canvas such as this eight-hour beast.

READ ON for more on this week’s Hidden Flick, Riget II…

A few days ago long-circulating video of the entire Grateful Dead show from Boston Garden on September 24, 1991 was uploaded to YouTube and I’ve been enjoying the hell out of these clips. Jerry was clearly enjoying Bruce Hornsby’s addition to the “musical conversation” as displayed during a perky Althea, an energetic China > Rider, a spacey Dark Star and a tear-jerking rendition of Standing On The Moon. We’ve put together a playlist of Duanebase’s videos so you can watch the entire show in order…

Grateful Dead – 09/24/1991 (Entire Show)

Set One: Let the Good Times Roll, Feel Like a Stranger, Althea, Baby Blue, High Time, Beat it on Down the Line, Big Railroad Blues, Desolation Row, New Speedway Boogie

Set Two: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Man Smart/Woman Smarter, Ship of Fools, Dark Star > drums > space > Foolish Heart, I Need a Miracle, Standing On The Moon, Around and Around

Encore: The Weight

Cornershop sure don’t like to be rushed when it comes to recording albums, taking nearly eight years in between releases and putting out only three records in the last 13 years. The UK-based band, whose latest – Judy Sucks A Lemon for Breakfast – made my Top 6 Of The First 6, also like to take their time when it comes to touring the US, having last played shows in the states all the back in 2002. Cornershop will look to remedy their lack of live appearances here with a short nine-date run this November that includes a stop at the recently renamed Irving Plaza in NYC on the 19th.

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

• Halloween Hootenanny Tour features Alice Cooper & Rob Zombie
• John Mellencamp hits the road in support of his new album
• Railroad Earth bring their brand of roots-rock to a town near you
• The Morning Benders stay busy through the end of the year
• Avi Buffalo head out on a month long cross-country run
• Country-infused, folk-rockers Deer Tick line up a 24-date fall tour

Finally, last Halloween I had the pleasure of being able to attend one of Levon Helm’s now legendary Midnight Rambles at his barn which serves as a home recording studio in Woodstock, NY. Helm, who hosts Rambles on most Saturday nights throughout the year, has recently revealed the opening acts for a number of Rambles this fall. Joining the former drummer from The Band throughout September and October will be Jackie Greene (9/4 & 18), Sam Bush (9/11 & 25) and Steve Earle (10/9 & 23), as well as the Stanton Moore Trio with Anders Osborne (9/25). Tickets are still available for most of these shows and are well worth the price of admission.

Never ones to rest on their laurels, the members of Arcade Fire continue to find innovative ways to market The Suburbs. Moving far away from traditional music videos, the group’s We Used to Wait acts as a soundtrack for an innovative project called The Wilderness Downtown.

This interactive film by Chris Milk asks viewers to enter the address of their childhood home and mixes images from Google Maps’ street view with images filmed by Milk to create a unique experience for each person who views the video. Be sure to check out The Wilderness Downtown using Chrome and read this fantastic Mashable article for more on the making of the feature.

Let’s take a quick tour around the ‘nets for today’s links…

• My Morning Jacket contributes a tune to Dear New Orleans
• Cover Time: Vampire Weekend covers Bruce’s I’m Goin’ Down
• Deep Banana Blackout’s Rob Somerville Joins Kung Fu’s Lineup
• The initial artist announcement for October’s CMJ Fest is out
• Axl Rose demands an apology from the Reading Fest organizer
• James Murphy talks about LCD Soundsystem with The Quietus

Finally, one of our favorite music industry bigwigs continues to expand his empire as I.M.P. chairman/9:30 Club co-owner Seth Hurwitz has started a record label called 9:30 Records. Virgina native Justin Jones is the label’s first signing and Jones’ The Little Fox EP will be the imprint’s first release.

The Breakfast @ Toad’s Place, August 26

After an impressive festival season, The Breakfast returned to New Haven’s legendary Toad’s Place Thursday to crank up the heat for their hometown crowd one last time this summer.

Opening the night was one of the band’s newer and perhaps most accessible tunes, Shotgun Butterfly. Played solidly, it was a great way to ease people into the vibe of what was still to come, and it got the crowd flowing nicely.

While I am always happy to be riding shotgun to guitarist Tim Palmieri’s wild excursions through guitar exploration, it’s not that he’s the sole pilot of this ship. Together with the three other members of The Breakfast – drummer Adrian Tramontano, keyboardist Jordan Giangreco and bassist Chris DeAngelis – the band plays as though operating under one single yet multidimensional mind, taking the audience as far out during instrumental jams as the collective group is willing to follow, then snapping it back effortlessly to the progressive riffs that keep people transfixed.

Really, few bands are capable of pushing the boundaries of a jam like The Breakfast. READ ON for more of Diana’s take on this show…

What an amazing summer for Phish. Building on the momentum gained in 2009, the band came out in force for what will truly be a memorable summer for years to come. Interestingly, Leg 1 and Leg 2 were like distant cousins rather than soul brothers. They could not have been more different and we thought it would be interesting to re-survey the masses to get their opinions on the second leg, the overall tour and some other assorted questions. Over 600 responses were received. This time, though, all questions were optional, so in some cases the responses do not always add up to the total amount of survey responses. Without further ado, here are the results:

Best Venue, Leg Two

In the vote that was clearly in the bank before any responses were received, Telluride takes the cake with over 40% of the vote. The Greek and Alpine of course garnered quite a few votes as well. Perhaps the only surprising aspect of the survey was that over 40 people felt that Jones Beach was the best venue and that it was only a handful of votes away from Deer Creek.

Best Lot Scene

Telluride nearly came up with another victory in this category but fell a few votes short of Deer Creek. The other three venues were each around 10% of the vote.

READ ON for more results from our Phish Summer Tour Survey…

Being in a rock super group isn’t as unique as it once was as the field of competition just got a little more crowded with the recent unveiling of Fistful Of Mercy – the new project from an impressive trio of  Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison (who looks eerily like his dad) and singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur. The band originally came together back in February when Harper invited Harrison to a three day recording session for Arthur’s new album. As the story goes, Arthur hadn’t written any songs and by default the trio decided to take a crack at writing songs and recording together.

Last Friday, the band made their official public debut when they brought their three guitar attack to influential Los Angeles public radio station KCRW’s Morning Become Eclectic for a performance and interview – which you can watch here. Firstful Of Mercy will release their nine-track debut As I Call You Down on October 5 and are planning to hit the road around the time of its release. The group recently uploaded this in-studio video of the song that the band takes its name from, check it out…

As we’ve previously mentioned, next month legendary gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples will release her highly anticipated new album You Are Not Alone, which was produced by Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy. The duo, who have appeared on-stage together a couple times already this summer, have released this video of their cover of CCR’s socio-political tune – Wrote A Song For Everyone, which also appears on Mavis’ new record…

Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy – Wrote A Song For Everyone

The Swell Season had a rough August following the suicide of a fan during one of their shows in Saratoga, CA. But they are a tremendously talented act and if you missed it the first time, be sure to check out a re-airing of their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel on Monday night. And if you haven’t seen the movie Once, which stars both Swell Season members Glen Hansard from the Irish band The Frames and Marketa Irglova, a classically trained Czech pianist and vocalist,  I highly recommend checking it out.

Monday, August 30 [All times EDT]

• Blue Note: A History of Modern Jazz [Ovation 2PM]
• Billie Holiday: Masters of American Music [Ovation 5PM]
• Muse: A Seaside Rendezvous [Palladia 6PM]
• Jimmy Kimmel: Swell Season (R) [ABC 12:05AM]
• Carson Daly: Phoenix (R) [NBC 1:35AM]

Tuesday, August 31

• Kings of Leon: Live from Bonnaroo [Fuse 5PM]
• Pink Floyd: The Wall [Fuse 8PM]
• David Letterman: Merle Haggard [CBS 11:35PM]
• Jay Leno: Norah Jones [NBC 11:35PM]
• Jimmy Fallon: Snoop Dogg [NBC 12:35AM]

Wednesday, September 1

• U2: At the BBC [Palladia 9AM]
• Lil Wayne: Behind the Music [VH1 Classic 11AM]
• Paul McCartney: Live in St. Petersburg [VH1 Classic 6PM]
• Ellen DeGeneres: Dave Matthews Band (R) [Syndication]
• Jimmy Kimmel: Ozzy Osbourne [ABC 12:05AM]

Thursday, September 2

• The Killers: World Stage [Palladia 2PM]
• Classic Albums: U2′s The Joshua Tree [VH1 Classic 4PM]
• Metallica: Behind the Music [VH1 10PM]
• Jay Leno: Herbie Hancock [NBC 11:35PM]
• Jimmy Fallon: Heart [NBC 12:35AM]

Luke Duplessis, the 30-year-old Phish fan who jumped off the highest level at the summer tour closer in Wantagh, NY last week better find a way to keep the soap in his hands. The Old Town, ME resident, who put his fellow fans at risk with his extremely stupid act, turned himself in to cops and  is currently awaiting arraignment in Hempstead, NY according to an AP report.

[Photo by John DelSignore of Gothamist]

Duplessis faces charges of reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He has still yet to make any statements publicly about what led him to leap. What do you think about Duplessis’ arrest? Did he already pay the price with the injuries he sustained or should the prosecutor throw the book at him? Regardless of anything, the Nassau County Jail isn’t a pretty place to spend anytime. We can only imagine what his potential fellow inmates will think of Duplessis’ crime, so he should invest in some soap on a rope.

• Previously: Phish Fan Jumps From Balcony

Friday Mix Tape is supposed to be in general a shorter piece that doesn’t require too much “thinking”, but we’re going to see if we can rhythmically stretch your mind a little bit today. Rather than get into the history of odd time signatures and writing tunes in 5, I am going to point you in the direction of this NPR piece titled Playing Five Beats To The Measure. A very well-written brief explanation of the history and many examples.

Now count with me: One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

I think it’s safe to say that the most famous song written in 5/4 is Dave Brubeck’s appropriately titled Take Five, except that song was not written by Dave Brubeck! While it appears on the 1959 album Time Out, Take Five was actually written by Paul Desmond – the saxophonist that plays on that track. Moving on to another tune that references the meter in the title we have the Gorillaz song simply titled 5/4. And then Radiohead, who are no strangers to odd time signatures, give us 15 Step which is in 5/4, a song that Thom Yorke once said in an interview that he thought Radiohead might not be able to pull off live. Want more guitars in your 5/4 jams? Well Steve Kimock has got that in his tune titled Five B4 Funk [source 1-26-2002]. OK Go has a pop song to contribute and it is titled WTF? Sufjan Stevens wrote a song in 5 for his 2004 album Seven Swans titled A Good Man Is Hard To Find. And to close us out, let’s have a listen to Blind Faith and their tune Do What You Like.

There are many others, what are you favorite songs in 5?

While private showcase gigs are usually the kind of thing that are reserved for industry folks, contest winners and a band friends and family, we wanted to point you in the direction of this exclusive offer via Gilt City. The luxury discount website has teamed up with indie-rock act Blonde Redhead to offer fans a deluxe package that includes a chance to see them perform an intimate show at the Tribeca Grand on Sept. 7, as well as admittance to an invite-only, after-party at the hotel’s Church Lounge following their gig.

Here’s what’s included in the entire package…

One ticket to Gilt City exclusive Fashion Week Kick Off concert with Blonde Redhead. Doors will open at 9:00 PM with a one-hour open bar featuring Brooklyn Brewery beer and Elevated cocktails by Tequila Avion. Blonde Redhead performs at 10:00 PM. After the concert, Gilt City members are invited to the after party where there will be a VIP section reserved for them. Each purchase also includes a special limited edition CD of Penny Sparkle, Blonde Redhead’s new studio album.

A very limited amount of tickets can be purchased here until September 2 – this is a pretty cool deal if you ask us!