In and around 5 PM (PST), the initial edition of the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival gets underway in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. While the historic park has hosted numerous rock concerts over the years, Radiohead will hold the distinction of being the first act to actually play there after sundown. The three-day festie-much like its Tennessee brother-offers up a diverse bill spread across a whopping six stages, so this week’s Mix Tape is dedicated to some of those acts.
We kick things off with one of the bands that actually kick the fest off - San Francisco’s own psychedelic-blues revivalists Howlin’ Rain with Dancers At The End Of Time. How about some hip-hop from another local act? Lets check in with Lyric Born for Callin’ Out. Saturday sees a rare solo set from M. Ward, who has been doing the She & Him thing all summer long. Here’s Matt with Chinese Translation off his fantastic Post-War album. From there we move into one from the night’s headliners, here’s Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with a live version of his classic American Girl. Early in the day Sunday sees a set from reggae legends Toots & The Maytals who will undoubtedly play their signature tune Funky Kingston. Finally, we close the mix out with a ripping Spiders (Kidsmoke) from Wilco’s career spanning residency at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre.
I’m in San Fran all weekend for the fest, so be sure to become one of our “followers” on Twitter to get loads of updates from throughout the weekend.
Before anyone had heard of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers there was Mudcrutch - Petty’s original band made up of his Gainesville buddies. The band released one single in 1975 on Shelter Records called Depot Street, and broke up when the label was more interested in Tom as a solo act.
Peter Bogdanovich’s lengthy documentary Runnin’ Down A Dream helped rekindle Petty’s desire to get the band back together. Today, some 30 years after they brokeup, Mudcrutch’s long delayed “debut” album hits stores. The first single off the album, Love Of The Bayou, is full of that classic Petty sound:
For those keeping score at home that’s Tom on bass - the instrument he originally played in the band. Petty, along with The Heatbreakers, hits the road at the end of next month for a full slate of summer tour dates with Steve Winwood in tow.
There has been lots of buzz about The Replacements lately thanks to Rhino’s new reissues of the band’s first four discs. Wes Orshoski recently interviewed both singer Paul Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson for a revealing Billboard magazine profile. Among other things, Westerberg and Stinson discuss how close they came to reuniting for festival season.
Both former members of the ‘Mats seem open to the idea of a reunion, if the timing and circumstances are right. That’s a big switch from the past when the guys were 100% opposed to any possible reunion. So I’m saying there’s a chance.
There’s also a chance we’ll dump a shit load of links on you:
Seattle’s Fleet Foxes have quickly become the royalty of a sub-sub genre
Van Halen returned to the stage at golfer Tiger Woods’ Tiger Jam XI
As always Uncle Neddy keeps you up to date on the shows of the week
Finally, most people thought Tom Petty was crazy for reforming Mudcrutch after nearly 35 years. But after reading the excellent Mudcrutch profile in the New York Times, Petty’s decision makes more sense. Sometimes artists need to be challenged, and you can’t find a bigger challenge than reforming your original band.
If you saw Peter Bogdanovich’s brilliant documentary on Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers odds are you remember the 20 minutes he spent talking about Mudcrutch. Mudcrutch was Petty’s first band, which laid the groundwork for the Heartbreakers. 30 years later Tommy P has put the band back together to record a new album. The band hits the road next month for a tour of intimate venues in California next month. Is a Space Antelope reunion next?
Here’s a fresh batch of links in honor of Good Friday:
Rick Wakeman quits Yes, only to be replaced by his son
Ryan Adams, Sam Bush and Ani DiFranco will headline this year’s Telluride Bluegrass Festival on June 19 - 22 in the gorgeous mountain town
Uncensored Interview offers a slew of videos with indie artists
ZZ Top gets busy on their first studio album in five years
Lou Reed, David Byrne and others team up for a Speak Up! benefit
Did Elvis Costello really name his new album after a NYC restaurant?
Philly fans speak up in defense of the Disco Biscuits, who are the main attraction at Jam On The River along with the Flaming Lips
Finally, if you’re like us you’ll probably be watching the NCAA basketball tourny this weekend. The New York Times offers a fascinating look at how each school’s band chooses the music that they play.
I thought we were in the clear without having to mention the words festival, Radiohead and Jack Johnson in the same sentence for a little while….Brief pause….Was that long enough? I think so. We’re already sick of talking about festies, and the season hasn’t even started yet. Today news surfaced about the Outside Lands Festival, which is scheduled to take place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on August 22-24. As has become commonplace now, Radiohead and Jack Johnson will headline along with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
The New York Football Giants shocked the world by pulling off an incredible victory over the heavily favored Patriots in what was one helluva game — it was actually kinda hard to sleep last night in New York City thanks to the roar of the fans celebrating in the streets. Guess you can’t win ‘em, all Boston fans. We rank Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ rapid fire parade of hits atop the non-football highlights, followed by the Prince Caspian commercial and the talking Tide stain.
Let’s see what’s cookin’ as we pretend we don’t have the world’s worst hangover:
Four More Albums: U2 avoids free agency by resigning with Universal
NMAS’ Luther Dickinson sure knows how to make a room shake
Ted Rockwell shares his thoughts on a recent Mars Volta show in Boulder
moe.’s Rob Derhak speaks to the Boston Herald about Sticks and Stones
The Duo wouldn’t sound like The Duo without Dirty Jerz
As always Neddy delivers a list of the NYC shows of the week
Finally, Filter Magazine sent Pat McGuire on the road with Band of Horses to document one of their recent tours of the West Coast. The road journal McGuire came back with features many interesting anecdotes and factoids from the road.
We didn’t take Tom Petty seriously in 2006 when he announced that he was done touring. Petty proved us (and virtually everyone else) right yesterday when he announced a major summer tour with Steve Winwood as the opening act. Petty also swears that he and the Heartbreakers won’t do a medley at the Super Bowl next weekend, but we’ll also believe that when we see it.
Let’s all take a look at what’s goin’ on before you head out for the weekend:
Gothamist asks if pricey rehearsal spaces are driving bands out of NYC
And as has become custom around these parts, let’s finish the week by checking out a new video. Spinner brings us Galactic’s new animated video for From The Corner to the Block, featuring Juvenille and Soul Rebels Brass Band. Well played.
Everyone has been focusing on naming their favorite albums of 2007, but I’m more of a visually oriented guy. Each week I browse Amazon and Netflix to find out what rock-related concerts and documentaries are coming down the pike, and I do my best to check out any that seem worthwhile. There were many flicks both good and bad that made their way into either my DVD player or DVR this past year. This week’s B List focuses on the 10 Best Music DVDs of 2007:
Bob Dylan changed folk music forever when he took the stage at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival with some bona fide electrified rockers. The Other Side of the Mirror examines not only Dylan’s 1965 performance, but also his more straightforward turns at the ‘63 and ‘64 festivals. Murray Lerner’s fantastic documentary gives us 20 songs from Dylan’s three appearances, most of which haven’t been released before.
Read on after the jump for the remaining best music DVDs of the year…
With The Pixies’ reunion fading into memory, the time’s finally come for Kelley and Kim Deal to get The Breeders back together. The Deal sisters have teamed up with producer Steve Albini to record Mountain Battles, an album that was put on hold in 2002 when Kim entered rehab. Mountain Battles hits stores on April 8th, and for Fuse’s sake we hope they don’t use any bong references on this album.
Let’s see what else is goin’ on ’round the world wide web this week:
Ever since Justin Timberlake revealed Janet Jackson’s Nubian Nipple at Super Bowl XXXVIII, the NFL seems to exclusively tab classic rockers to perform during halftime at the Super Bowl as to not repeat that Awakening of Areola. The recent tradition continues, and the NFL yesterday officially announced that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers got the gig at Super Bowl XLII on February 3rd in Phoenix.
Petty grew up in football crazy Gainesville, so we’re pretty sure he’s been to a big game or two. No word yet on whether Petty will dedicate Even The Losers to our woeful Jets, who finally played a good game yesterday. What else we got?
The Disco Biscuits announce their first ever European tour
