The only major bummer about the first two North American legs of The Police’s reunion tour has been the lack of changes to their setlist. Well last night in Ottawa The Police finally switched it up a bit. Sting, Stewart and Andy opened with the first Bring On The Night since 1982, and followed it up with the first Demolition Man since the Synchronicity Tour. For more on last night’s show check out this review from the Ottawa Sun, or the setlist over at ThePolice.com.
Here’s one more batch of links for the week:
Has anyone seen the new fishing show, Skunked, that Dean Ween has put together for members of his Brownie Troop 666? In the first episode of Skunked, Mickey sets out to capture the disgusting creature known as the Shad. The second installment finds Deaner in Trenton, NJ, searching for Striped Bass with mixed results. Who needs the Deadliest Catch when you can get Skunked?
The White Stripes cancelled the remaining dates on their World Tour back in September when Meg White came down with a case of acute anxiety and couldn’t travel. It seems like Voluptuous Meggers is still wary of getting back on the bus. Jack White recently told the LA Times there’s a chance the White Stripes will forgo touring in the future to focus on studio work a la The Beatles. Because when we think of the White Stripes, we often think of the The Beatles.
Let’s see what else is out there besides the Plant/Krauss at Bonnaroo news…
- SNL’s Fred Armisen lists ten things he bought/got/looked at this year that he loves for Brooklyn Vegan
- Jesse Jarnow recaps Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah shows
- Brian Wilson’s first foray into the exciting career of Camp Counselor
- Beck might have played a tangential role in a double suicide
- Not surprisingly, Sly Stone continues to underwhelm audiences by leaving early and showing little interest in most gigs
- Tickets are on sale now for the 18th annual High Sierra festival
- The NY Post looks at the best of rock music merch
- Al Schnier, Keller Williams, Marco Benevento and several other folks list their favorite memories of 2007 for Jambands.com
Finally, we’re saddened but completely unsurprised to find out that Quiet Riot’s Kevin Dubrow died of a cocaine overdose. The Riot’s quieter these days.
It feels like forever since we posted a Grousing The Aisles, but it’s only been two weeks. We’re gonna make up for lost time by posting three incredible soundboards by legendary artists and linking to an additional five at the end of the piece As my mom likes to say “Don’t ever say we never gave you anything.” Let’s get down to business…
Sly and the Family Stone 09/01/1969 SBD [FLAC, MP3]
Much has been made about Sly Stone’s reappearance onto the scene. Sly clearly has seen better days, so instead of looking at his present, let’s take a look at a golden oldie from the days when crack was just the line on your ass. Just this week we came across an incredible soundboard of Sly and the Family Stone’s groundbreaking performance at the Texas International Pop Festival in 1969. You can hear the urgency in Sly’s voice as he sings early versions of songs that would soon be classics.
The whole band absolutely kills this material throughout the set. M’lady brings the funk, Sing A Simple Song shows a bit of a harder edge and Stand! gives the crowd a feel for the more political side of Stone’s music. All of Sly’s musicians are having a great night, especially bass player Larry Graham. Other highlights include a bombastic Dance To The Music and the whole filler, especially the guitar-driven Thank You (Fallentime Be Mice Elf Again). If you want to see what Sly and the Family Stone was all about, download this set or check out the Woodstock video, but whatever you do don’t pay $75 to see them play. Read on for tasty boots from Paul Simon, the Dead and more…
It’s time to mourn the loss of another legendary venue. Ziggy’s, a Winston-Salem tradition for the past 30 years, closes its doors on Sunday. The list of bands that have come through the doors at Ziggy’s is staggering in both size and quality. Perpetual Groove closes the venue down in style on Sunday by hosting A Last Supper featuring a bunch of their close friends.
- With Sly Stone, in 2007, you take what you can get
- Spin interviews Arcade Fire and Bruce Springsteen for their first joint interview
- Donald Fagen let it slip that Steely Dan will return to the road next summer
- Neddy remembers Hampton ‘97 ten years later
- Weezer is gearing up to release its sixth album, Tout Ensemble, on April 22nd
- The fight over James Brown’s estate continues to rage on
- Glen Phillips hits the road early next year
Finally, former Lynyrd Skynryd drummer Artimus Pyle was thrown in jail for failing to register on a sex offender’s list. Gimme three steps towards the cell.
You know Saturday Night Live’s fallen on tough times when the only compliment you can give is: “Hey, the humor may be completely missing, but at least they still continue to book great bands.” The show continues to induce blank stares, with this weekend’s episode representing a new low for the current cast. But a brutal evening of comedy provided a splendid night of music, and Feist’s renditions of 1234 and I Feel It All were truly gorgeous, very Joni Mitchellesque.
Spreaking of shows that book great acts Zappa Plays Zappa rocked Late Night with Conan O’Brien last week. But enough of the videos, it’s linkage time:
And read on after the jump for a comprehensive list of all the setlists from the weekend, including but not limited to Ryan Adams sitting in with Phil Lesh and Mike Gordon playing with RatDog, Van Halen in New Jersey, Jason Isbell and They Might Be Giants. Some torrents from the weekend are also available for download…
Sly Stone took himself higher than most, and the resultant burnout saw the funk legend living the life of a complete recluse. But the comeback trail beckons, and Sly and the Family Stone will make their first NYC appearance since 1974 on December 7th at B.B. King’s. How long Sly will actually take the stage that night remains to be seen. If the band’s recent European tour is any indication, don’t expect much more than 20 minutes worth of Sly singing inaudibly and banging on a keyboard. And oh yeah…expect to pay $85 for that opportunity.
And tickets for the upcoming Mighty Mighty Bosstones reunion concerts are harder to come by than World Series tickets. Who’s got my extraaaa?
We’ve got another answer to the Where’s Cactus query? Former Phish bassist Mike Gordon returned to the stage on Saturday night to sit in with Gov’t Mule at Burlington’s Memorial Auditorium. The artist formerly known as Cactus played a crazy looking bass during covers of the Grateful Dead’s Loser and JJ Cale’s After Midnight with Warren and the boys. You can buy the official audio recording of the show shortly over at Mule Tracks.
Ace provided us with plenty of coverage from the Austin City Limits festival this weekend, but a few other stories came our way…behold:
And as always on Mondays, read on after the jump for a full slate of setlists from the weekend in music…and hit us up with any cool links we didn’t see.
The official website of Larry Campbell blew up Phil Lesh’s spot, announcing that the Peter Gallagher lookalike will be touring with the former Grateful Dead bassist in the fall, beginning on September 28th. Not surprisingly, the news was deleted from Campbell’s website within a few hours of being posted.
We’re extremely excited that Phil is getting back on the road, and we wait with baited breath to see the dates and who the other members of the ensemble will be. The item posted on Campbell’s website also said that he will be playing with Phil and Friends in San Francisco on July 21st. So make sure to keep a look out for some announcements from the Lesh camp soon.
Have a great beginning to your week, and don’t forget to check out A Big Yes and a small no tonight in Brooklyn. The winners of our contest on Friday? Jeremy Welsh and Eric Mohl. Congrats to both. And as usual, read on after the jump for a long list of setlists from the weekend, including Arcade Fire, Bob Dylan, Dispatch, Genesis, Metallica, Morrissey, Tower of Power, and all your favorite jambands…
We hope you are enjoying the day we told England to fuck themselves as much as we are. On the off chance you are stuck at a desk, we’ve got your back with some linkage to get you through the day:
We’ll have one more Independence-related post following this one and then we’re checking out for the day. We’ll see ya tomorrow, folks…
We know it’s Memorial Day, and most of you are sipping margaritas by the pool. But there’s still plenty of news to report from this weekend, and we live to serve and aim to please. Plus, we really wanted to debut our amazing new logo designed by the one and only Felonious Monk. Monk for President.
We’re also excited to announce this is The Police Week on Hidden Track. Every day this week we’ll have a new post about Sting, Andy, and Stewart, the trio that kicked off its reunion tour last night in Vancouver. Of course, we’ll still be covering the rest of the music world in graphic detail, never neglecting our regular duties.
Before you get back to your barbecue check out these links and setlists:
And remember to read on after the jump for as many weekend setlists as we could find, including the Beastie Boys, Bright Eyes, the Disco Biscuits, Kings of Leon, moe., Smashing Pumpkins, Steely Dan, The Who and Umphrey’s McGee…
