Face it, hipsters: Nothing beats the peak of a red-hot jam. But many of the jambands left on the scene just don’t do it for Some Dude of Hits from the Blog, so he’s here to coach us on which bands we should turn to for greatness…

Let’s face it, folks, the jamband scene is dead and decomposing. The Fat Man isn’t walking through that door; pre-hiatus Big Red isn’t walking through that door. The bands left in the wake of the once-thriving scene of the late ’90s/early aughts have either hit their ceiling, called it quits or are currently cashing in as glorified cover bands. So as we all wait for the next big thing to violently shake up the scene and make it relevant again, it’s time to broaden our horizons.

While some have resorted to labeling bands “post jam” — sorry, I almost threw up in my mouth after typing that — to sugarcoat it, I’m here to tell you there is no such thing (apologies, Mr. Greenhaus). For something to be post-anything it has have been influenced by its predecessor, and I doubt the members of bands like Wilco and My Morning Jacket were slinging veggie burritos and selling homemade blown glass out of a 1987 Chevy Shitbox in the Phish tour lot.

There are, however, exciting bands out there that should appeal to those of us rooted in classic rock and improvised jamming, groups that have opted to jump head-first into the indie-rock pool like the two mentioned above. So without any further posturing, I’d like to introduce you to the musical stylings of Portland’s own Blitzen Trapper. Read on for less lecturing and more music…

On a recent NPR podcast, former Sleater-Kinney guitarist and current fulltime music blogger Carrie Brownstein described this band as the Grateful Dead meets Pavement. Any good cynic would love to scoff and poke holes in that high praise, but I have to say that’s not too far off — just take a listen to the title track of their latest album Wild Mountain Nation and you’ll see what she’s talking about…

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Not bad, right? Not bad at all. They even have a song called “Wild Mtn. Jam,” which is a weird backwater, bluegrass inspired ditty. Who says we have to leave the world of garlic grilled cheese behind?

I know what you’re saying though, “How do they sound live?” I’m glad you asked — you can check out this in-studio performance for KEXP and find out for yourself. Come on, be proactive, it’s good for you.

Blitzen Trapper is also on the bill at this year’s Langerado music festival, so I guess other people see the connection too. BT just announced a full tour, too:

02-22 Seattle, WA – University of Washington #
02-28 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill *
02-29 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour *!
03-01 San Diego, CA – Casbah *
03-02 Phoenix, AZ – Modified *
03-04 Denton, TX – Hailey’s *
03-05 Houston, TX – Walter’s on Washington *
03-06 Hattiesburg, MS – Thirsty Hippo %
03-07 Tallahassee, FL – The Beta Bar *
03-08 Everglades National Park, FL – Langerado Festival
03-09 Jacksonville, FL – The Eclipse *
03-11 Birmingham, AL – BottleTree *
03-13 Austin, TX – Yard Dog Gallery (Schubas SXSW party)
03-14 Austin, TX – SXSW
03-15 Austin, TX – SXSW
03-16 Norman, OK – The Opolis *
03-17 Columbia, MO – Mojo’s *$
03-19 Nashville, TN – Exit In *
03-20 Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn *
03-21 Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern *
03-22 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle *
03-23 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 *
03-25 Washington, DC – Black Cat *
03-26 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s *
03-27 Cambridge, MA – Middle East *
03-29 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-30 Worcester, MA – Clark University *
04-01 Montreal, Quebec – La Salla Rossa *
04-02 Toronto, Ontario – El Mocambo *
04-03 Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place *
04-04 Cleveland, OH – The Grog Shop *
04-05 Detroit, MI – The Magic Stick *
04-06 Chicago, IL – Schubas *
04-08 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon *
04-09 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry *
04-10 Grinnell, IA – Grinnell College *
04-11 Omaha, NE – The Slowdown *
04-12 Lawrence, KS – Jackpot *
04-14 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive *
04-15 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge *
04-17 Vancouver, British Columbia – Media Club *
04-18 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s *
04-19 Portland, OR – Holocene *

# with Menomena
* with Fleet Foxes
! with Grand Archives
% with Beach House, Papercuts
$ with Mahjongg

HT Staff

Hidden Track was started in October of 2006 and features a team of dedicated contributors from across the country. This article was written by one of the newest members of our team or was a collaboration by more than one contributor. Want to contribute to Hidden Track? Send us a pitch to scott at glidemagazine dot com.

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