Phish front man Trey Anastasio and his Trey Anastasio Band ensemble opened a brief four-show swing last night at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. Over the course of two lengthy sets, TAB delivered a mix of songs from each stage of Anastasio’s solo career as well as an acoustic romp through Wilson.

Before starting Wilson, Anastasio told the crowd it was a thrill to be in Seattle and mentioned that it’s a dream of his for fans to chant “Wilson” when Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson steps on the field. Trey said “use social media and tell your friends,” imploring fans to make it happen.

Check out the setlist from last night’s show…

READ ON

Every three years since 2004 Eric Clapton has called upon his famous guitarist friends and those young axeslingers he admires for a benefit called the Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise funds for Clapton’s Crossroads Centre drug treatment center in Antigua. Following the 2004 edition in Dallas and 2007 and 2010 editions near Chicago, this year’s Crossroads Fest takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Last night was the first of the event’s two nights at the “World’s Greatest Arena.”

[Photos by @languagestrange]

Clapton took the stage as the evening’s first act for a five-song acoustic set and returned at points in the night to sit in with many of the performers on the bill. Booker T was up next and was joined by Steve Cropper, Blake Mills, Matt “Guitar” Murphy and Keb Mo for a set of MGs classics. A summit of guitar gods followed, which saw Clapton team up with B.B. King, Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan. Sonny Landreth delivered a song while the stage was set for Doyle Bramhall II, who welcomed Citizen Cope and Gary Clark Jr. during his five-song performance. From there, Philip Sayce, Earl Klugh and Al Turner and Kurt Rosenwinkel each took turns leading the proceedings with Clapton joining Rosenwinkel for If I Should Lose You and Way Down That Lonesome Road. Gary Clark Jr. returned for a quick solo interlude which was followed a John Mayer set. Country star Keith Urban helped out Mayer and his band for a cover of Don’t Let Me Down By The Beatles. For Buddy Guy’s set the Chicago legend was joined by Robert Randolph and his protege – Quinn Sullivan. The evening’s MC Dan Aykroyd paired up with Keb Mo for a few tunes before he introduced the Allman Brothers Band to close out the show. The Allmans finished off the evening with a five-song set that included sit-ins from David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, Taj Mahal and Clapton himself for Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?

We’ve compiled photos, videos and the setlist from last night’s show…

READ ON

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band brought their Wrecking Ball Tour to Australia this evening for the group’s first performance of 2013. When the band took the stage at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane they did so without guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who is in Norway filming his Lilyhammer TV show. It was the E Street Band’s first performance without Little Steven since 1988.

[Photo by @patricklion]

Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello filled Van Zandt’s role and will do so for the entire ten-show Australian leg of the Wrecking Ball Tour. After opening with We Take Care Of Our Own, the first single off Wrecking Ball, the band honored their Australian hosts by debuting a cover of Australian alternative act The Saints’ late ’80s hit Just Like Fire Would. The Saints hail from Brisbane.

We’ve come across a video of the Just Like Fire Would debut…

READ ON

The Allman Brothers Band just completed their second of 11 shows that make up this year’s March Madness Run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. For their 212th career performance at the Upper West Side venue, they laid down a jam-fueled show that included the run’s first guest, the  dusting off of an original that hadn’t been played in nearly 21 years and two cover debuts.

[Image via Allman Brothers Family of Bands and Michael Vernon]

The first set featured the second performance of Warren Haynes’ new original Dusk Till Dawn following last night’s debut. The Allman Brothers Band dug deep into their catalog for an original they hadn’t performed in nearly 21 years – Low Down Dirty Mean. The song, which was written by former ABB members Johnny Neel and Dickey Betts, was recorded and released on 1990′s Seven Turns LP. Low Down Dirty Mean was last performed by the Allman Brothers Band on March 20th, 1992. Austin-based singer/songwriter David Grissom was the run’s first guest as he sat in with the Allmans for You Don’t Love Me towards the end of the opening stanza.

When the band came back for the second set, founding member Gregg Allman was sporting an acoustic guitar for what seems to be the Allman Brothers Band debut of Long Black Veil, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and covered by the likes of Johnny Cash, The Band and even Gregg Allman and Warren Haynes themselves at last year’s Love For Levon benefit. Another cover debut came next in the form of Ann Peebles’ Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home which both the Warren Haynes Band and Gov’t Mule have played before. The rest of the set was all about the jams with Dreams followed by Derek and the Dominos’ Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad? and In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. Even the encore was a long jam song – Whipping Post.

Here’s the setlist from tonight’s show…

READ ON

Each Grammys weekend, the music world comes together to celebrate the MusiCares Person Of The Year with a dinner, auction and tribute concert. This year, MusiCares, which is the health and human services organization affiliated with The Recording Academy, honored New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen at the L.A. Convention Center. Not only did the likes of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Sting, the Alabama Shakes, Jim James and Tom Morello and Mumford & Sons pay their respects to The Boss by covering one of his songs, but Springsteen himself closed out the evening with a five-song set.

[Photo by MikeJonesPDX]

Comedian Jon Stewart hosted, working in stories about his own New Jersey upbringing and how Springsteen’s music played a big role in his life. Between Alabama Shakes opening the evening with Adam Raised A Cain and Neil Young and Crazy Horse closing out the tribute set with Born In The U.S.A., there were 16 covers performed. Among those were Mumford & Sons bringing their own edge to I’m On Fire, John Legend’s solo piano version of Dancing In The Dark, James and Morello pairing up for The Ghost Of Tom Joad, Sting’s Lonesome Day and Elton John’s take on Streets of Philadelphia.

Watch Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s take on Born In The U.S.A. -

READ ON

We’ve come to the end of 2012 and Phish’s four-night New Year’s Run at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tonight the quartet returned to MSG to finish off the run with their seventh three-set, New Year’s Eve performance at “The World’s Greatest Arena.”

[Photo via @phishfromtheroad]

Phish has always been known for their “quirky” lyrics and no song is quite as quirky as Kung. The Jon Fishman-penned ditty features the line “we can stage a runaway golfcart marathon.” Over 23 years after the debut of Kung, the quartet showed that can indeed “stage a runaway golfcart marathon” as this year’s “gag” turned MSG into a golf-themed, garden party complete with golf carts driving wildly around the stage. The golf theme continued into the third set after Tweezer Reprise followed Auld Lang Syne as each song Phish played referenced golf – Sand, The Wedge, Fly Like An Eagle (Steve Miller Band), Wilson (an image of a Wilson-branded ball was shown on the scoreboard), Lawn Boy (performed a capella), Driver and Iron Man.

Watch The “Gag”…

READ ON

December 30th has also been a special day for Phish as they’ve delivered a number of memorable gigs on this night. Tonight, Phish continued their four-night NYE Run at Madison Square Garden.

[Photo via @phishfromtheroad]

The penultimate show of 2012 started off with a batch of staples that led into only the 16th version of Blues Image’s one-hit wonder Ride Captain Ride ever. Ocelot continues to win over Phish fans thanks to its swampy jam section. Ya Mar featured Mike Gordon taking a bass solo in lieu of a guitar solo. Horn has been a tune the quartet has struggled with, but not on this night – it was nailed. My Friend, My Friend also benefited from a near flawless performance and led into a typically ferocious Run Like An Antelope first set closer.

While the second show of the run didn’t contain much exploration, the same can’t be said about Night Three. Phish opened up Down With Disease in a big way, exploring multiple jam spaces in the near 20-minute version that kicked off the closing stanza. A particularly enthralling segment saw bassist Mike Gordon utilize a synth’d out tone that was so powerful the audience roared when he kicked into it. Guitarist Trey Anastasio followed along for a funky and dirty romp that closed out the Disease and led into Twenty Years Later. Next up was Carini which kept the “darkness” theme going and contained a jam that could’ve easily been played by early Pink Floyd as by Woodsman. This psych-y segment was Phish jamming without a net and was more spacey than melodic. The quartet followed the jam-laden first half of Set Two with straight-forward takes on Backwards Down The Number Line and Julius. A gorgeous, patient Slave To The Traffic Light was a powerful way to end the set of the run thus far. When Phish returned for the encore, they did something they’ve never done before over the last 29 years – they followed Slave with Harry Hood. Two of the more emotional and quintessentially Phish tunes back-to-back. Hood’s jam section was as patient as the powerful Slave, until it came time for the climax. Anastasio played a series of chords to end the tune instead of his usual rapid-fire flurry of notes. Show of Life was tacked on as a bonus second song in the encore slot.

[MKDevo's 12/30 Videos]

Setlist…

READ ON

Last night Phish began their annual New Year’s Run at Madison Square Garden in New York City with a show that featured memorable versions of Tweezer and Wolfman’s Brother. This evening the four-night stand continued for what was the band’s 25th show at “The World’s Greatest Arena.”

[Photo via @phishfromtheroad]

You can watch this evening’s show live via a LivePhish.com webcast. For commentary from the Garden, we recommend following @bizarchive.

Setlist…

Set 1: Crowd Control, Mound, AC/DC Bag > Rock and Roll, Sugar Shack, Reba,Halley’s Comet > Limb By Limb^[1], Wading in the Velvet Sea, Bathtub Gin^[2]

Set 2: Golden Age > Waves > Prince Caspian^[3] > Boogie On Reggae Woman >Suzy Greenberg > Bug > Cavern > 46 Days

Encore: The Squirming Coil, Grind, First Tube

[1] Follow the Yellow Brick Road tease
[2] Susie Q quote from Fishman
[3] Unfinished.

[via Phish.net]

Here’s The Skinny from Night Two of Phish’s NYE Run 2012…

READ ON

Tonight, HT faves Phish returned to Madison Square Garden in New York City for the first of four shows that comprise the quartet’s New Year’s Run. The band first performed at “The World’s Greatest Arena” on December 30, 1994 and will make their 24th appearance tonight.

Phish came out of the gates with a spirited romp through Stealing Time From The Faulty off Joy which believe it or not is still their most recent album. The first set focused on well played staples such as Moma Dance, Funky Bitch, Kill Devil Falls and Free. While Page McConnell’s Army of One was dusted off for its initial 2012 performance and Stash was its usual creepy and evil self, the clear highlight of the opening stanza was the Wolfman’s segment that closed the set. The Wolfman’s jam vacillated between funk and arena rock valleys and peaks before Trey led his mates through a wild instrumental version of Little Drummer Boy, marking the first time Phish had covered the holiday tune since April 16th, 2004. Jon Fishman kept a reggae beat going through the cover. After multiple runs through Little Drummer Boy’s verse and chorus, Fishman picked up the tempo and led a transition back into Wolfman’s. Trey wasn’t done yet as he drove the crowd wild with one fiery peak after another than brought the set to a close.

After that incredible end to the first set, Phish picked up where they left off with Tweezer. The second set opener receives high marks in both the quality and quantity department as it featured jaw-dropping interplay and clocked in at over 20 minutes. This must-hear version contained anthemic leads from Trey, powerful organ washes from keyboardist Page McConnell and dynamic lead bass action thanks to Mike Gordon. Maze kept the energy up, a trend that would continue throughout Set Two as there were no ballads included within. The band was feeling their oats on Night One as displayed in Twist when Trey once again threw Little Drummer Boy riffs in and his mates were only too happy to oblige for another quick turn through the holiday classic. Fluffhead showed Phish was also capable of nailing complex compositions despite a four-month layoff leading into the performance. The Bowie closer started with a brief but stellar McConnell solo before Anastasio took the reins and led the quarte to a furious and glorious peak. Surpringsly, Tweezer Reprise was left unplayed as a Bouncin’, Good Times Bad Times encore put a cap on the evening.

Setlist…

Set 1: Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, The Moma Dance, Funky Bitch, Army of One, Tube >Stash, Nellie Kane, Kill Devil Falls, Free, Wolfman’s Brother -> The Little Drummer Boy -> Wolfman’s Brother

Set 2: Tweezer -> Maze, Twist^[1] > Theme From the Bottom -> Fluffhead, David Bowie

Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, Good Times Bad Times

[1] Little Drummer Boy teases and quotes

Notes: The Little Drummer Boy was played for the first time since April 16, 2004 (187 Shows).  Twist contained multiple Little Drummer Boy teases as well as quotes from Trey, referring to Fishman.

[via Phish.net]

Here’s The Skinny from the Phish NYE Run 2012 opener…

READ ON

The Rolling Stones‘ 50 and Counting Tour pulled in to Newark, New Jersey tonight for the first of two shows at the Prudential Center that will bring the run to a close. The band shook up the setlist a bit from the London and Brooklyn shows and gave the fans a handful of surprises.

[via @polidorable]

Once again the Stones started off with an old school pairing as they kicked off the set with Get Off of My Cloud and The Last Time. It’s Only Rock and Roll was played towards the back half of the set at the first three 50 and Counting shows but tonight it came much earlier. Longtime Stones backing vocalist Lisa Fischer has sat back as Mary J. Blige and Florence Welsh were spotlighted on Gimme Shelter in London and Brooklyn. This evening Fischer finally got her chance to sing the Let It Bleed classic.

John Mayer came out for what was presumed to be a blues cover like The Stones had done with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Gary Clark Jr. at earlier 2012 shows. Instead they teamed up for a run through Respectable from 1978′s Some Girls. Respectable hadn’t been performed since the band’s last tour in 2007. Following Wild Horses came the biggest surprise of the night. In their recently released app the Stones had let fans vote on a song to be played at Saturday night’s One More Shot Pay-Per-View. Mick Jagger told the crowd that they would take a request on this night leading the Stones to dust off a cover of Chuck Berry’s Around and Around for the first time since March 5, 1977. Around and Around was a staple of the group’s early live repertoire. It was performed at both “secret” El Mocambo shows in 1977, one version of which made the Love You Live double album.

Set: [Marching Band Walks Through Arena Playing Sympathy For The Devil] Get Off of My Cloud, The Last Time, It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It), Paint It Black, Gimme Shelter, Respectable (w/ John Mayer on guitar), Wild Horses, Around & Around (Last Time Played – March 5, 1977), Doom and Gloom, One More Shot, Miss You, Honky Tonk Women, Before They Make Me Run, Happy, Midnight Rambler (w/ Mick Taylor), Start Me Up, Tumbling Dice, Brown Sugar, Sympathy For The Devil

Encore: You Can’t Always Get What You Want (w/ The Choir of Trinity Wall Street), Jumpin’ Jack Flash, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

[via @RollingStones]

Both new songs off GRRR!, Doom and Gloom and One More Shot, followed the bust out. Later, Keith Richards took a turn out front for Before They Make Me Run and Happy. Then, former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor emerged for Midnight Rambler just as he did for the London shows. While the beginning of the show did see the band switch up the setlist a little, the end of the evening followed the same order as previous 2012 performances. For the first song of the encore, The Stones were joined by The Choir of Trinity Wall Street for You Can’t Always Get What You Want, another trademark of these 50 and Counting shows. Two of the band’s biggest hits, Jumpin’ Jack Flash and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, were the evening’s finales.

The Rolling Stones finish the 50 and Counting Tour on Saturday in Newark.

The months in the planning 12-12-12: The Concert For Sandy Relief benefit concert is finally here. We’ll update this post with a setlist, photos, videos and our thoughts as the night goes along. The expected order of performances is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band > Roger Waters > Bon Jovi > Eric Clapton > Rolling Stones > Alicia Keys > The Who > Kanye West > Billy Joel > Chris Martin > Paul McCartnirvana.

Setlist:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Land of Hope and Dreams, Wrecking Ball, My City of Ruins, Born To Run (w/ Jon Bon Jovi), Living On A Prayer

Roger Waters: In The Flesh, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2, The Ballad Of Jean Charles de Menezes, Money, Us and Them, Comfortably Numb (w/ Eddie Vedder)

Adam Sandler: Hallelujah (w/ Paul Shaffer)

Bon Jovi: It’s My Life, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Who Says You Can’t Go Home (w/ Bruce Springsteen), Living On A Prayer

Eric Clapton: Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, Got To Get Better In A Little While, Crossroads

Rolling Stones: You Get Me Rocking, Jumping Jack Flash

Alicia Keys: Brand New Me, No One

The Who: Who Are You, Bell Boy, Pinball Wizard, See Me Feel Me/Listening To You, Baba O’Riley, Love Reign O’er Me, Tea and Theatre

Kanye West: Clique > Mercy > Power > Jesus Walks > All Of The Lights > Run This Town > Diamonds From Sierra Leone > Diamonds > Touch The Sky, Gold Digger, Good Life, Runaway, Stronger

Billy Joel: Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway), Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas > New York State Of Mind, River Of Dreams, You May Be Right, Only The Good Die Young

Chris Martin: Viva La Vida, Losing My Religion (w/ Michael Stipe), Us Against The World

Paul McCartney: Helter Skelter, Let Me Roll It, 1985, My Valentine (w/ Diana Krall), Blackbird, Cut Me Some Slack (w/ Dave Grohl, Pat Smear and Krist Novoselic), I’ve Got A Feeling, Live and Let Die

Alicia Keys: Empire State of Mind Pt. 2

All proceeds from tonight’s concert benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund and will be used to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Please head to the organization’s website to donate to the cause.

READ ON

The Rolling Stones have finally kicked off their long-awaited 50th Anniversary Run this evening at London’s 02 Arena. Following a few “surprise shows” at intimate venues, the five-show run begins with a pair of performances at the 20,000-capacity 02 before heading across the Atlantic for shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Dec. 8th) and Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center (Dec. 13th and 15th). The core Stones of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts were joined by bassist Daryl Jones, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, multi-instrumentalist Tim Ries, saxophone wiz Bobby Keys and vocalists Bernard Fowler and Lisa Fischer for most of the performance.

[Mick Taylor and The Stones Photo by Tony Sanchez]

I Wanna Be Your Man, which was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released by Mick and Co. in 1963 (The Beatles also recorded it for With The Beatles), yet went unplayed in concert since 1964, opened the show.  The group stuck to early favorites for the start of the set, before welcoming their first guest, Mary J. Blige, for Gimme Shelter. Following a string of ’70s classics, Jeff Beck came out to play on I’m Going Down. Out of Control from 1997′s Bridges To Babylon was the only contribution from the ’90s and led into the evening’s only debut – One More Shot from the recently released greatest hits compilation GRRR! The other new tune from GRRR!, Doom and Gloom had been performed at the warmup shows and came right after One More Shot tonight.

[Photo via @RollingStones]

Original Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman and one-time Stones guitarist Mick Taylor each made appearances. Wyman emerged for It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It) and Honky Tonk Women while Taylor jammed with his old mates on Midnight Rambler. Taylor last appeared with The Rolling Stones at a 1981 show in Kansas City.  The Stones finished the main set by their lonesomes, reeling off hits Miss You, Start Me Up, Tumbling Dice, Brown Sugar and Sympathy For The Devil to bring the two-hour set to a close. When they returned for the encore, the Stones were augmented by the London Youth Choir for You Can’t Always Get What You Want, the first time they had performed the tune with a choir. Jumpin’ Jack Flash was the second song in the encore slot and the last tune of the night.

Main Set: I Wanna Be Your Man, Get Off Of My Cloud, It’s All Over Now, Paint It Black, Gimme Shelter#, Wild Horses, All Down the Line, Going Down^, Out of Control, One More Shot^^, Doom and Gloom, It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)*, Honky Tonk Woman*,

Band Intros

Before They Make Me Run, Happy, Midnight Rambler**, Miss You, Start Me Up, Tumbling Dice, Brown Sugar, Sympathy For The Devil

Encore: You Can’t Always Get What You Want%, Jumpin’ Jack Flash

# – w/ Mary J. Blige, ^ – w/ Jeff Beck, ^^ – Debut, * – w/ Bill Wyman, ** – w/ Mick Taylor, % – w/ London Youth Choir

[Note - Satisfaction and Lady Jane were cut from the official setlist]

The Rolling Stones return to the 02 Arena on November 29th.

• Reviews: Associated Press, RollingStones.com, Daily Mail, USA Today, The Telegraph

VIDEOS…

READ ON

Last night at le Theatre Mogador in Paris, The Rolling Stones played their second “secret” warmup show in the past week. Following last Thursday’s performance at La Trebendo in the French capital, the Stones treated a bigger crowd to a 12-song “greatest hits” set yesterday.

[Photo via RollingStones.com]

At le Theatre Mogador, the core Rolling Stones band of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, Darryl Jones and Chuck Leavell were joined by longtime Stones backing vocalist Bernard Fowler who was not on hand at La Trebendo. All Down The Line, You Got Me Rocking, You Can’t Always Get What You Want and Honky Tonk Women all made the setlist last night after not making the cut last Thursday. Meanwhile, Route 66, Shattered, When The Whip Comes Down and Champagne and Reefer were the only songs played at the first “secret show” that weren’t performed last night.

Here’s the setlist from last night’s Rolling Stones show…

Set: It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It), All Down The Line, You Got Me Rocking, Tumbling Dice, Miss You, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Doom And Gloom, Midnight Rambler, Start Me Up, Honky Tonk Women, Jumping Jack Flash

Encore: Brown Sugar

No word yet on any future “secret shows.” The Rolling Stones will celebrate their 50th Anniversary with four shows later this year – November 25 and 29 at London’s 02 Arena and December 13 and 15 at the Prudential Center in Newark. The gig on the 15th will be broadcast as a Pay-Per-View special.

The newest edition of Trey Anastasio’s ever-changing solo band made its debut tonight as TAB Fall Tour 2012 got underway at The Fillmore in Detroit. As hinted at yesterday, Big Red did unveil a new guitar, using a Fender Jaguar at points during the show. Trey’s latest solo album, Traveler, came out just two days ago and unsurprisingly the setlist was filled with tunes from the LP including the debuts of Corona, Scabbard, Architect and Traveler. Multi-instrumentalist James Casey of Lettuce made his first appearance with the band and the evening also saw the return of percussionist Cyro Baptista.

[All Photos by Justin Wendt]

In addition to many tunes from Traveler, the tour-opening setlist contained a nice mix of TAB classics such as Push On ‘Til The Day, Simple Twist Up Dave, Drifting, Jibboo and Sand with a handful of deeper cuts such as Words to Wanda, Wherever You Find It (only the 2nd one since 2007) and Curlew’s Call as well as the Traveler tunes. Here’s the full setlist…

Set 1: Corona, Push On ‘Til the Day, Words to Wanda, Simple Twist Up Dave, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Cayman Review, Scabbard, Frost, Drifting, Wherever You Find It, Gotta Jibboo > Goodbye Head

Set 2: The Land of Nod, Money, Love and Change, Let Me Lie, Curlew’s Call, Pigtail, Clint Eastwood, Valentine, Architect, Small Axe, Sand, Tuesday, Traveler

Encore: The Devil Went Down to Georgia, First Tube

[via Phish.net]

We’ll compile any video, audio and review links we can find and update this post on Friday.

Here’s a few more Instagrams from Justin Wendt…

READ ON

Jim James (w/ Carl Broemel) @ Colonial Theatre, October 1

Half way through the rigidly intimate set, My Morning Jacket front man Jim James stopped to reflect on the reason he was playing in front of a room full of Barack Obama supporters. “I want to be a part of something forward moving,” said James to the packed Colonial Theatre in Keene, New Hampshire on Monday night.

[All Photos by Kevin Fuller]

The gig was staged as a backdrop to not only raise awareness to vote in the upcoming presidential awareness but garner support for Obama in a crucial swing state. The theater was packed with mostly college students and surrounded by opportunistic Obama campaign volunteers hoping to draw the students to the polls to vote in November.

Set: Tonight I Want To Celebrate, The Right Place, Wonderful, Bermuda Highway, Changing World, Carried Away, Hopefully, Look At You, The Way He Sings, What A Wonderful Man, I Will Be There, Golden (w/ Craig Finn), Gideon, I’m Amazed, Day Is Coming

[via MMJ Forum - Unconfirmed]

James breezed through an acoustic set that included My Morning Jacket staples The Way That He Sings, Golden, Gideon and I’m Amazed as well as cuts off the band’s latest album, Circuital, such as The Day is Coming and Wonderful (The Way I Feel).

READ ON