In a scene that would make Will Ferrell proud, the Burlington Free Press reports that roughly 1,600 cowbell-playing revelers lined Church Street in Burlington to form what Ben & Jerry’s claims is the World’s Largest Cowbell Ensemble. The ice cream makers put the event together to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Phish Food and to raise funds for Vermont Flood Recovery through the WaterWheel Foundation. Those assembled rang their cowbells along with four tunes performed by a  band fronted by Phish drummer Jon Fishman, one of which was Blue Oyster Cult’s (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, natch.

[Photo via @benandjerrys]

Lead cowbeller Fishman, sporting a “More Cowbell” t-shirt, was backed by Pork Tornado band mates Aaron Hersey on bass and Phil Abair on keys as well as drummer Russ Lawton of TAB, guitarist Bob Wagner and local singer/songwriter Joshua Panda for takes on Time Has Come Today by The Chambers Brothers, BOC’s (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, Takin’ Care of Business by Bachman-Turner Overdrive and an encore of Hang On Sloopy by The McCoys. Meanwhile, Mike Gordon signed his new Steamroller Wheelies: A Restoration Convoy CD earlier in the afternoon at the scoop shop.

As of press time, the new record hasn’t been made official yet…

Whether the roughly 1,600 cowbell-whappers took part in an official world record remains to be determined, according to Beth Montuori Rowles, executive director of the WaterWheel Foundation. She said Ben & Jerry’s documented the event and will send it on to the Guinness World Record people for their review.

[Burlington Free-Press]

Proceeds from the tickets sold, which included a cowbell and t-shirt, went to WaterWheel.

Watch the World Record Breaking Event Band perform and a local news report…

READ ON

Jam stalwarts moe. have announced a gig at a unique NYC venue set for June 27, when the band will play the Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club in Downtown Manhattan at the South Street Seaport. The show is open to those 18 and older. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, April 17, at 10AM ET.

[via the venue's FB page]

Here’s more on the Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club…

The Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club is New York City’s hottest summer venue for outdoor events. Schmooze with guests along the East River under the stars on the 200-ton sandy beach. Lounge on couches with your feet in the sand, or show off your skills over a game of pool, foosball or ping pong. Enjoy the concert in the 10,000 sq. foot open-air beer tent with the iconic Brooklyn Bridge as your backdrop. Beers on tap include Magic Hat #9-Not Quite Pale Ale, Six Point Crisp Lager, Blue Point Toasted Lager, and Ommegaang Witte Ale.

You can delight in cuisine from a menu with everything from chicken fingers to oysters on the half shell. This is truly a unique space to hear and see live music, with the setting of multiple bridges and the East River beside you.

The venue has hosted a number of rock shows in the past from the likes of Bruce Hornsby.

One of the surprises found on Van Halen’s impressive A Different Kind of Truth LP was the inclusion of She’s The Woman. This track was originally recorded by the band on their 1976 demo and has resurfaced all these years later. Van Halen has just released a video for the tune…

Van Halen – She’s The Woman

In other news, here’s six stories that caught our interest this week…

• Vulture ponders: When Did SNL Get So (Relatively) Hip About Music?
• Watch M. Ward Play Chinese Translation on Morning Becomes Eclectic
• Jesse Jarnow Details 10 No-Brainer Acts Never Nominated For Rock Hall
• Mumford and Sons Will Host Two Festivals Across The Atlantic in June
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers Have Inked A Deal With Spotify For Streaming
• Read Keith Richards’ Note To His Aunt About Meeting Mick Jagger in ’62

Finally, Furthur has turned into the Energizer Bunny of post-Jerry bands. Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s outfit hasn’t even finished their Spring Tour, and Summer Tour is months away, but they just announced a 13-date Fall Tour that will bring them to Red Rocks for three shows and also includes a three-night stand at Edgefield in Troutdale, Ore. and a pair of gigs at L.A.’s Greek Theatre.

Here’s the full list of dates…

9/21 – 9/23: Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO
9/25: WaMu Theater at CenturyLink Field Events Center Seattle, WA
9/27 – 9/29: Edgefield Troutdale, OR
9/30: Shoreline Amphitheatre Mountain View, CA
10/2: SDSU Open Air Theatre San Diego, CA
10/4: The Joint Las Vegas, NV
10/5 & 10/6: Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA
10/7 Santa Barbara Bowl Santa Barbara, CA

Head to the Tour Page of the band’s website for full ticketing details.

Like many things in this world, they sure don’t make one-hit wonders like they used to. For this week’s Friday Mix Tape, I’ve put together a compilation of nine songs from the ’70s that marked the only major hit for the acts that recorded them. We’re talking nine catchy tunes from the decade that brought us Watergate, VCRs, the good Godfather movies and lava lamps.

We start off with the catchy Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl), a 1972 hit by Looking Glass. From there, we turn to Blues Image for Ride Captain Ride and Carl Douglas for the disco hit Kung Fu Fighting. One-hit wonders from the ’70s also came from the folk-edged King Harvest (Dancing In The Moonlight) and Dutch prog-rockers Focus (Hocus Pocus).

The Disco era brought us many revamped versions of classical tunes, such as Walter Murphy’s A Fifth of Beethoven – a groovy adaption of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. As I was putting this mix together I heard Ram Jam’s jock rock classic Black Betty play over the PA at a Bruins playoff game, so that tune had to make the cut. Next, we turn to KISS guitarist Ace Frehley whose cover of New York Groove by Hello scored him the #13 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. Finally, from the decade’s final year, we’ve got Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles, a tune that kicked off the MTV era.

Looking Glass – Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)
Blues Image – Ride Captain Ride
Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
King Harvest – Dancing In The Moonlight
Focus – Hocus Pocus
Walter Murphy – A Fifth of Beethoven
Ram Jam – Black Betty
Ace Frehley – New York Groove
Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s Wrecking Ball Tour is in full swing and will continue at least until September based on a set of new tour dates that have just been added to the run. The legendary group will play 10 additional U.S. and Canada gigs at large outdoor venues such as Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.; Wrigley Field in Chicago and Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The run will end with a three-night stand at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

[Photo by Danny Clinch]

Here’s the full set of new dates…

August 18 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium (on sale 4.28)
August 24 – Toronto, ON , Canada– Rogers Centre (on sale 4.20)
August 26 – Moncton, NB, Canada – Magnetic Hill (on sale 4.21)
August 29 – Vernon, NY – Vernon Downs Raceway (on sale 4.28)
September 2 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park (on sale 4.21)
September 7 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field (on sale 4.21)
September 14 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park (on sale 4.27)
September 19 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)
September 21 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)
September 22 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium (on sale 4.20)

The Wrecking Ball Tour hits First Niagara Center in Buffalo tonight.

Each time the Alabama Shakes come back to New York City, there’s more of a spotlight put on the worth the buzz band. This time around the group is in town for a pair of shows at Bowery Presents venues as well as an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman and a MTV Hive webcast. At this rate of growth, it’s only a matter of time until the Shakes headline Madison Square Garden.

If you missed Brittany Howard and the band’s fantastic version of Hold On from last night’s episode of The Late Show, we’ve got you covered…

Alabama Shakes – Hold On

We also came across a rip of the MTV Hive webcast from Tuesday night…

Alabama Shakes – MTV Hive Webcast

Australian singer Wally De Backer, aka Gotye, will make his Saturday Night Live debut tomorrow on an episode hosted by Josh Brolin. Goyte has blown up in America this year as promoters keep pushing his shows to bigger venues based on the ridiculous demand to see him live.

Friday, April 13 [All Times ET]

• Bonnie Raitt on David Letterman [CBS 11:35PM]
• Far East Movement on Jay Leno [NBC 11:35PM]
• The Fray on Jimmy Fallon [NBC 12:35AM]
• Bear Hands on Carson Daly [NBC 1:35AM]

Saturday, April 14

• John Legend and The Roots – Austin City Limits [PBS]
• My Morning Jacket – Storytellers [Palladia 8:30AM]
• Florence + The Machine – Unplugged [Palladia 9PM]
• Gotye on Saturday Night Live [NBC 11:30PM]

Sunday, April 15

• Indigo Girls – Live at the Roxy [HDNet 2:40PM]
• Rush – Time Machine [VH1 Classic 9:30PM]
• Joe Bonamassa – Live From The Beacon [Palladia 10PM]
• Cowboy Junkies – Trinity Revisited [HDNet 11:15PM]

Next weekend the Allman Brothers Band will welcome a slew of their musical friends to gorgeous Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida for the Wanee Festival. Tickets are still available for under $200, but the price jumps once the gates open. Earlier this week the event’s schedule was released, so we thought we’d point out a handful of sets you need to see.

1. Allman Brothers Band (Friday and Saturday at 9:30PM)

Not only is the legendary rock band the host of Wanee, but the focus is on the group after the way the Beacon run ended. Gregg Allman has supposedly recovered from the back issues that forced him out of the final Beacon show. Considering the ties between nearly every act on the bill and the Allman Brothers Band, we can only imagine the tough choices ABB musical director Warren Haynes will have in picking guests for sit-ins during the band’s two sets. Stay tuned!

READ ON

As we previously reported, auction house Bonham’s will give Grateful Dead fans a chance to buy items from Jerry Garcia’s estate through an auction on May 8 titled Visions of Garcia. Back in 2008, when Bonham’s put a number of items from various GD family members up for auction through More Skeletons In The Closet, I prepared a B List detailing the 10 items I would purchase if money was no option.  Since there’s some real gems in the Visions of Garcia offerings, I figured I’d do the same to spotlight the best goods within the auction.

1. #3019 – Jerry Garcia Hand-Written Setlist

If you’ve been reading HT for a while, you’re probably aware of my love for stage setlists and the one you see above is about the coolest one I’ve ever seen. Penned before the JGB show at E.M. Loew’s in Worcester back in 1982, the multi-talented Garcia even threw a crazy doodle onto the paper along with the list of songs he aimed to play during the second set.

READ ON

Somewhere, failed webcasting service Moogis founder Butch Trucks is kicking himself. CNBC has just confirmed that Bob Weir’s high-tech TRI Studios has inked a third-party revenue-sharing deal with Yahoo Music. TRI will get access to the portal’s 34 million monthly visitors, while Yahoo will split online revenue with the streaming service. Weir and the TRI team have put lots of money, CNBC says $5 million, and thought into offering high-quality video and audio streams that exceed what we’ve seen from other services. “Bobby and TRI Studios are interested in bringing the highest-quality sound to the audience when they want and where they want on it and on any device they want it on, and we’re enabling them to interact,” TRI President and CEO Chris McCutcheon told CNBC.

[The Inside of TRI Studios]

For a recent webcast from TRI Studios featuring Weir and indie musicians from Brooklyn called The Bridge Session, Yahoo dipped its toes into the webcasting waters by partnering with TRI to show the live stream. Bobby sees the deal with Yahoo in line with the patronage deals seen more frequently in the classical music world as opposed to traditional sponsorships. Weir and McCutcheon spoke with CNBC during an interview that aired today and can be viewed through the news network’s website.

While Yahoo remains the fourth most visited site on the web, the company has undergone rounds of layoffs and financial issues over the past few years. Since TRI’s debut a little less than a year ago, the service has offered both free and pay-per-view webcasts from the likes of Slightly Stoopid, Furthur and Ratdog. Future webcasts are scheduled from Lukas Nelson as well as God Street Wine.

If you were like us, the first thing you thought of when it was announced Guns N’ Roses would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year was that perhaps Axl Rose would finally let the original members of the band perform with him at the ceremony. Over the last few months it became clear that wouldn’t happen, but today Rose penned a letter to Pop & Hiss, the L.A. Times Music Blog making his reasoning clear.

[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]

In the letter Rose declines his nomination and confirms he won’t be attending this weekend’s ceremony. Axl also uses the opportunity to get a few jabs in at his detractors. Rather than paraphrase any further, read Axl’s entire letter as printed by Pop & Hiss…

READ ON

Bonnaroo has just announced that jam stalwarts Phish will play two sets at this year’s festival. When Phish last played Bonnaroo, in 2009, they performed a late night set on the 12th followed by a pair of sets on the 14th. The band’s planned appearance will feature two sets on the same night, with times and date to be confirmed soon. Event organizers have also revealed that Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A, Sam Bush Band, Michael Kiwanuka and Black Box Revelation have been added to the lineup. The 2012 edition of Bonnaroo will take place in Manchester, Tennessee on June 7 – 10.

Quintessential Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra are throwing their inaugural Dark Star Jubilee festival at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio on August 31 – September 2. In addition to a show a night from DSO, the band will welcome 7 Walkers, the Mickey Hart Band, Keller Williams, Jorma Kaukonen, Infamous Stringdusters, Dumpstaphunk, Donna The Buffalo, Perpetual Groove, Boombox, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Cornmeal, the Donna Jean Godchaux Band and more to Dark Star Jubilee. All in all, that’s three former members of the Dead who will participate.

Tickets are on sale now for $89. There will be no overlapping sets.

Here’s six other stories of note this hump day…

• Hybebot profiles the fan-friendly, high-tech ways of Umphrey’s
• Sax wiz Bill Evans chats with Chad Berndtson for Glide Magazine
• Rush will finally release a new LP, Clockwork Angels, on June 12
• NMAS Duo and Bright Light Social Hour added to moe.down bill
• The set times for the first weekend of Coachella have been posted
• NY Times reviews last night’s Kraftwerk eight-show run opener

Finally, up-and-coming acts Big Mean Sound Machine, Beat The Grid, and JSAN will play the first-ever Ithaca Bowl event at Brooklyn Bowl in NYC on Tuesday, May 22. The event has been assembled by promoter Brad Tucker to bring together Ithaca College alums living in NYC and is free-of-charge to those who attend/join the show’s Facebook page or shows an Ithaca College ID at the door.

After months of purported leaks and heavily circulated rumors, the Lollapalooza lineup has finally been confirmed. Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath and Jack White are set to headline the three-day event, which will take place in Chicago’s Grant Park on August 3 – 5. HT faves featured on the bill include The Shins, Sigur Ros, Dawes, tUnE-yArDs, The Heart & The Heart, Alabama Shakes, Dr. Dog and The War On Drugs. Recently reunited At the Drive-In and The Afghan Whigs are also on board for the latest installment of Perry Farrell’s 20-year-old festival.

“Regular” $230 tickets are currently on-sale as are the more pricey VIP ducats.

Here’s a look at the full lineup…

Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Florence + the Machine, At the Drive-In, Avicii, The Shins, Justice, Passion Pit, Sigur Ros, The Weeknd, M83, Miike Snow, The Afghan Whigs, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Frank Ocean, J. Cole, Childish Gambino, Delta Spirit, Metric, The Temper Trap, Wale, Die Antwoord, Dawes, tUnE-yArDs, The Head & the Heart, The Big Pink, Twin Shadow, The Tallest Man on Earth, Toro y Moi, Dr. Dog, Of Monsters and Men, Gary Clark Jr., Alabama Shakes, The Gaslight Anthem, Amadou & Mariam, Band of Skulls, SBTRKT, Tame Impala, The Walkmen, JJ Grey & Mofro, fun., Neon Indian, Dum Dum Girls, Washed Out, Aloe Blacc, Trampled by Turtles, Bear in Heaven, Blind Pilot, Chairlift, The Black Angels, Yellow Ostrich, Givers, Polica, Bombay Bicycle Club, Sharon Van Etten, White Rabbits, Doomtree, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Devil Makes Three, Oberhofer, The War on Drugs, Michael Kiwanuka, O Rappa, Bowerbirds, Orchard Lounge, Mona, The Growlers, Hey Rosetta!, JEFF the Brotherhood, Anamanaguchi, First Aid Kit, Wax, FIDLAR, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Milo Greene, Los Jaivas, Kopecky Family Band, The Jezabels, LP, Yuna, Walk Off the Earth, Animal Kingdom, Dev, The Sheepdogs, The Dunwells, DJ Mel, Empires, Kevin Devine, Dry the River, Helena, Haley Reinhart, Imaginary Cities, Overdoz, Ambassadors, DJ Zebo, Chancellor Warhol, Laura Warshauer, Red Oblivion

Perry’s stage:

Bassnectar, Kaskade, Calvin Harris, NERO, Santigold, Knife Party, Zeds Dead, Big Gigantic, Skream & Benga, Little Dragon, Porter Robinson, Sub Focus, Madeon, Zedd, Paper Diamond, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Star Slinger, Badastrom, DJ Nihal, SALVA, Kid Color

Yesterday marked the second show of two-night stand at Madison Square Garden for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. While so far this tour, The Boss has kept most of the set the same each show, there are a handful of slots in which the Jersey native will rotate in songs from his deep back catalog. Newcomers have no fear – he still plays the greatest of his hits on a nightly basis such as Dancing In The Dark, Born to Run and 10th Avenue Freeze-Out, but those Bruce fans who see dozens or hundreds of shows are usually thrown a few bones at each gig.

[via @Springsteen]

At the first MSG show, on Friday, Springsteen busted out the rarity Lion’s Den, which hadn’t been performed since the Reunion Tour in 2000, as well as the tour debut of Murder Incorporated, while last night’s set included the first Spirit In The Night and Backstreets of the tour. A memorable moment occurred in the middle of Monday’s main set when The Boss grabbed a fan’s sign which read, “Thundercrack For A Birthday Gal” and brought it up to the stage before starting a rendition of the show-stopping tune from early in his career. A multi-camera shot video of Thundercrack has been uploaded to YouTube by clark kent and displays why fans are always requesting the song…

Bruce Springsteen – Thundercrack

Setlists

Monday, April 9

Set: Badlands, We Take Care of Our Own, Wrecking Ball, Out in the Street, Death to My Hometown, My City of Ruins, Spirit in the Night, Thundercrack, Jack of All Trades, Trapped, She’s the One, Easy Money, Waitin’ on a Sunny Day, The Promised Land, Apollo Medley, Because the Night, The Rising, We Are Alive, Backstreets, Land of Hope and Dreams

Encore: Rocky Ground (with Michelle Moore), Rosalita, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

Friday, April 6

Set: Badlands, We Take Care of Our Own, Wrecking Ball, Out in the Street, Death to My Hometown, My City of Ruins, Murder Incorporated, Johnny 99, Jack of All Trades, Shackled & Drawn, Lion’s Den, Easy Money, Waitin’ on a Sunny Day, The Promised Land, Apollo Medley, American Skin (41 Shots), Lonesome Day, The Rising, We Are Alive, Thunder Road

Encore: Rocky Ground (with Michelle Moore), Kitty’s Back, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

[Setlists via Backstreets]

The tour continues on Thursday night at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.