Tom Petty & My Morning Jacket @ Izod Center, August 24
Every old generation likes to tell the new generation that things used to be better back in the day. This especially rings true in rock where many of those in their 50s and 60s like to tell me I totally missed out on the likes of Zeppelin, Hendrix and The Band and that no artist of the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s could ever compare. Last night at the Izod Center was the rare evening when the best of the old school and new school came together as current rockers My Morning Jacket and classic rockers Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers showed that rock music is in good hands over the course of three hit-heavy hours in East Rutherford, NJ.
My Morning Jacket came on exactly at the 7:30PM ticket time so that they could play for as long as possible before The Heartbreakers took the stage. The quartet opened with a little taste of Rollin’ Back before quickly segueing into The Way That He Sings. Despite only having an hour to perform, Jim James and his band mates made the most of each minute and packed the set with their best material. Near me, many of the patrons were clearly at the venue to see Petty and sat with arms folded through the first few songs. As MMJ tore through Off The Record and Gideon I could tell they were connecting with even the most jaded of Petty fans. Bopping heads turned into full body thrashing by the time One Big Holiday closed out the set. It’s always great to see people won over by good, honest music.
As the MMJ set progressed I started feeling bad for Petty. How do you follow one of the best bands in rock who is at its peak? James has great stage presence as displayed during his Wordless Chorus antics which included hiding underneath his cape while still singing loudly and proudly. The band’s newest song, Circuital, fit into the set nicely – quite the compliment considering the gems MMJ threw down on this night.
READ ON for more on Tom Petty & MMJ in New Jersey…
Back on Friday we broke the news that NPR will be streaming the audio of over 40 sets from this week’s Bonnaroo Festival. We were wondering if anybody would be webcasting video and apparently YouTube got the nod. No word yet on exactly which sets will be webcast, so keep your eyes on the Bonnaroo YouTube Channel in the coming days.
Finally, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ lengthy summer tour started last week and former JamBase editor Aaron Kayce was on hand for Saturday night’s show in Oakland. His report for Spin Magazine makes it seem as if the band is already in fine form. We’re not surprised to see many songs from Mojo make the setlist, though we hope that Petty switches up the classics.
It’s sort of easy to take Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers for granted, as the venerable classic rock act (though believe it or not they were considered new wave early on in their career) have been making music together since 1976. Petty & Co, who have sold over 50 millions copies of their albums, have a back catalog of songs that have become sing-along radio staples. Now some thirty-four years into their storied career the band will be releasing their twelfth studio album Mojo, and first since 2002′s The Last DJ, on June 15.
The blues-based album, which is said to have been inspired by Petty’s Mudcrutch reunion project, was recorded with all the band members together in the same room and has the loose jammy feel of a live album. Petty, who is no stranger to the music video, fully embracing in the medium during MTV’s halcyon days, dropped his latest for I Should Have Known It…
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will kick off their massive North American tour with a two-night stand at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre on June 1, and will feature Joe Cocker, CSN, the Drive-By Truckers, ZZ Top, Buddy Guy and My Morning Jacket all taking turns as opening acts.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will return to NBC’s Saturday Night Live for the Alec Baldwin-hosted season finale on May 15. This marks the group’s eight appearance on the show, though it will be their first since first time on SNL since 1999. Petty and his band are gearing up for an extensive tour in support of Mojo, which is currently set for a June 15 release.
We’ve got our usual six-pack of links to share this hump day…
Finally, Orlando Sentinel film critic Roger Moore was not a fan of Phish 3D. He panned the movie in a blog post incurring the wrath of vocal Phish fans who weren’t pleased with the typical Dead comparisons Moore used. Moore got into it with a few of the commenters and then decided to take a few more shots at the movie and the fanbase in a whole new post after he closed comments in his initial review. A glutton for punishment, he is.
While Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have been no strangers to the road over the last decade, the classic rock act hasn’t released anything in the way of new material since 2002′s The Last DJ. That will all change when Petty & Co. drop their 12th studio album entitled Mojo via Reprise Records later this Spring, and have wasted no time in announcing a massive summer arena and shed tour in support that kicks off in Raliegh, NC on May 6.
Joining Petty on various stops will be an impressive and diverse group of opening acts that includes My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers, Crosby Stills & Nash and Joe Cocker – a slot that helped put 70 Volt Parade on the map back in 2006.
Tickets will go on-sale beginning March 8 via Live Nation, with those purchased online to include not only an MP3 download of the entire new album upon its release (with First Flash Of Freedom and Good Enough available at the time of purchase), but a selection of handpicked live tracks from the tour – pretty sweet deal!
Making a list of the Best Concert DVDs of 2008 was a struggle, because there weren’t many quality releases to choose from. This year, we have the opposite problem as there were tons of terrific Concert DVD releases.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Best Concert DVDs of 2009…
Arcade Fire fans were thrilled when the band announced they would be releasing a concert film chronicling the recording of Neon Bible and the subsequent tour. Unfortunately, director Vincent Morisset works so hard at not being a typical concert film that the documentary, which appears to be shot by cell phone cameras at points, isn’t all that entertaining. The bonus material makes Miroir Noir worth owning and earns it a spot on this list.
Legendary jazz fusion supergroup Return to Forever reunited in 2008 and this DVD gives a good illustration of how good this group of musicians continues to be. Filmed in Montreux, Return to Forever Returns contains a nice of mix of tunes from all of their albums played with passion and verve.
READ ON for the rest of our list of Best Concert DVDs of 2009…
While this decade may have been tough for the recording industry, music fans can’t complain about the number and quality of the hundreds of archival releases that have flown out of the vaults since 2000. Record labels realize that there’s plenty of money to be made after the comparatively negligible cost of mixing and digitizing these old releases.
2009 was another fantastic year for live archival releases as we’ve seen massive box sets from the likes of Neil Young, Tom Petty and the Grateful Dead that featured impressive recordings of high-caliber performances. Let’s take a look at Hidden Track’s Top 10 Archival Releases of 2009…
The Widespread Panic Archives opened wide in 2009 after years and years of fan requests for older material to be released. Carbondale 2000 started the action last year, Valdosta 1989 came next followed closely by Huntsville 1996 and Montreal 1997. Out of the three that were released this year, Huntsville ’96 stands out due to Panic’s spine-tingling performance of an incredible setlist as well as the quality of the recording.
As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Tom Petty is about to release a career spanning live anthology containing 48 overdub-less tracks selected by Petty, Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate on November 24. The Tom Petty Superhighway Tour will start on September 29 for digital purchasers of the set in which fans will be allowed to download 24 FLACs (!!!) or MP3s of the Anthology’s 48 songs over the course of the next two weeks with the other 24 coming on the November 24th release day.
As much as I want the Superhighway package, I’m going to hold out until November 22 when the deluxe edition comes out. Not only do you get an additional 14 songs on a bonus CD in the deluxe edition but you get two live DVDs and vinyl from a Petty concert in 1976. Too bad they won’t let people who pre-order the deluxe edition download the Superhighway Tour tracks.
Here’s a look at a few other stories of interest…
Aerosmith is finally playing those makeup shows in Hawaii, but guitarist Joe Perry warns TMZ that the show may suck.
As per usual, the list of scheduled performers for this year’s Austin City Limits broadcasts kicks ass. Here’s the full list of performances…
October 3: Dave Matthews Band
October 10: Ben Harper and Relentless7
October 17: Kenny Chesney
October 24: Andrew Bird / St. Vincent
October 31: M. Ward / Okkervil River
READ ON for the rest of the ACL schedule and for more linkage…
Widespread Panic’s legendary stop in Montreal at Club Soda on September 8, 1997 will be featured as the fourth release in the Widespread Panic Archives series that hits stores on October 6. Among the highlights of this killer show at the approximately 400 capacity venue are the appropriate Barstools and Dreamers, a jammed out Greta and a stellar four song encore.
While we’re talking Panic, the band announced their fall tour yesterday.
I wish I was more excited for the recently announced Tom Petty live anthology that’s coming out, but I get the sense that much of the material Petty is putting out already makes the rounds. Sure, more casual fans won’t have this stuff but casual fans aren’t shelling out for five CD sets. I hope I’m wrong, because I’ve been waiting for a live Petty set for a long time.
The Allman Brothers Band continued their massive 2009 with a star-studded affair at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles last night. Tom Petty joined the band for a cover of Highway 61 Revisited along with his fellow Heartbreaker bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. Petty toured with the Allmans back in 2006. Also, Bruce Willis lent his harmonica skills to You Don’t Love Me earlier in the evening. Here’s a clip of the Highway 61…
The Allmans return to the Greek tonight for the second of two shows.
As we prepare for a 2009 that certain to be filled with popular rock band Phish returning to old haunts and new venues, it’s time to start thinking about what songs the band will play at these shows. Our friends at Phish Thoughts recently went over what post-Breakup Trey originals should make the cut, which in all honesty was a little depressing.
Everyone loves a good cover, so today we’re going to look at ten bands that Phish has never covered and select a song we’d like to see them perform.
10. The Eagles
Sure Henley and Frey wrote some wusstastic slop, but let’s not forget the rock edge Joe Walsh lent to this band in the late ’70s. We’d love to see Phish cover The Long Run, with its lyrics about moving on from bad influences, on the Hampton run.
READ ON for nine more artists Phish has never covered…
The suits at MTV weren’t happy to see YouTube come into the picture a few years back to become THE place to watch old music videos. MTV made videos what they are before relegating them to MTV2 in lieu of such brilliant programing as The Real World – Weehawken and True Life: My Son Fucks Goats. This week, MTV finally got in the game by launching MTV Music.
The MTV Music portal features over 16,000 videos, Unplugged performances and exclusive MTV concert footage with the promise of much more to come. I spent a few hours combing through the site last night and found some really cool clips. Here’s ten great videos from the ’80s I hadn’t seen in years…
Remember when Bruce Hornsby used to be a pop star? There are plenty of old Bruuuuce videos on MTV Music besides Every Little Kiss including Valley Road, The Way It Is and Across The River.
Most people focus on Touch of Grey when discussing the Grateful Dead’s music videos, but they actually made a number of promotional videos including Just A Little Light, Hell In A Bucket, We Can Run and this clip for Built To Last’s Foolish Heart.
READ ON for eight more videos from deep within MTV’s vault…
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.
, on June 15.
. That will all change when 
