Shana Tova! Dig those Phish boys rockin’ “Avenu Malkenu” at 4:03 in…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP0UF_r3dkY&hl=en&fs=1]
And it looks like it’s going to be an extra sweet one as it has been confirmed (and grandiosely covered at Hidden Track) that ‘The Phish’ from Vermont will be reuniting and have a first show booked in March 2009 at Hampton Coliseum…unless you’re one of those grouches that hates Phish or the kind that can’t separate the music from the scene. Happy New Year to all of us Jews and the Jew in all of us!
On what U.S. album did “I Feel Fine” appear?
So how much bullshit is this new Led Zeppelin reunion report, by Jess Rogers at The Sun, on a scale of 1 to Coda?
Led Zeppelin 1 = It’s on! It’s 100% true story.
Houses of the Holy = 50-50. Maybs
Coda = No chance! Total bullshit.
Rate the likelihood of this newest Zep reunion rumour below… (I’m going with IV, or ZOSO, or Runes, or what have you)…
What do the Hollies’ “Bus Stop” and the Yardbirds’ “For Your Love” have in common?
…I mean, at Warsaw in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on Sunday, the 28th. Kick out the jams with some kielbasa and beer! The first one in July was a blast. Here are the details. And here is a nice video…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svo-t7YeVuU&hl=en&fs=1]
…now how ’bout you! This video is geniusly hilarious…and for fucking real…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgHHX9R4Qtk&hl=en&fs=1]
As I’ve told you before…don’t be an asshole, vote for Obama. And convince your grandparents in those scary little red states that keep trying to drag our country further into the shitter (like the one I grew up in). It’s that simple. C’mon people, have you heard of crossroads before!
Check out The Great Schlep’s website.
Let’s all keep Sir Paul in our thoughts and prayers today as he has his gig in Tel Aviv, Israel tonight and has received recent death threats from Palestinian extremists saying that he would not be safe while in the Middle East. Paul has said that he just does what he feels is right and did not cancel the show, claiming that he has many close friends who support Israel and that he is bringing to the Middle East a “message of peace”. Read more here.
From BBC News:
“If he values his life Mr McCartney must not come to Israel,” Muslim cleric Omar Bakri, who has been banned from the UK, was quoted by the British Sunday Express newspaper as saying.
“He will not be safe there. The sacrifice operatives will be waiting for him.”
But the veteran musician has dismissed both the threat and the boycott calls.
“Most people understand that I’m quite apolitical and that my message is a global one and that it is a peaceful one,” Sir Paul said ahead of his concert.
I’ll tell you what. All I’m saying is that Paul better remain safe over there, or I foresee the start of the third World War.
What a great show last night at the Ballroom, where the sound is always perfect! We got there towards the end of the opener, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, and were pleasantly surprised to hear a top-notch folk-psych outfit who could be Steeleye Span folky one minute and the next, launch into some scorching jams led by electric guitar maestro, Phil Wandscher. Jesse’s voice is beautiful and hauntingly mesmerizing, and completely set apart from the vocal style that a lot of ‘alternative’-ish female singers are latching onto these days. Dig their songs on MySpace!
And then it was on to the main event, Black Mountain, who started strong and never let up. Here’s the setlist…
…and that’s about the best picture I got, since the band likes to keep the stage nice and dark. They are named Black Mountain, after all! These guys pound you with heavy riff-filled sound that you can’t help but bang your head to…kinda like Black Sabbath, but more trippily-psychedelic, and with killer proggy keyboards. They have a female singer with a ‘bleating vibrato’ (a la Roger Chapman…anyone?) and the guitarist also sings. And the band is at their best when the two are singing together, like in the third song of the night, “Wucan”, a song that puts me in a willing trance every time I hear it. Check out their video for the song…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8upxRhff7cE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1]
…is that not amazing? And it was 11 times the badassedness live at Bowery Ballroom last night. There was nary a dull moment. Other highlights for me besides “Wucan” were “Druganaut” and “Stormy High”. Check this band out if they come to your town!
I love that there are now bands like this out there playing to indie-rock audiences and reminding them how good a guitar solo can sound. It seems like the guitar had become just an instrument to make cutesy little jangly sounds on for so many indie-rock bands, as it somehow became unhip to have songs with guitar solos. Why is this? Did all the sensitive guys think of a guitar solo as an extension of their penis, which of course they would never want to admit to having? Or maybe their lyrics were so deep that a guitar solo would only water down their dire message to the world. Well, I’m happy to say that I’d rather wallow in the guitar-centric new pool of talented psych-rock bands such as Black Mountain, Dungen, Howlin Rain, Wooden Shjips, Earthless, and Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter.
Check out Black Mountain music on MySpace and, if you dig ‘em, pick up In The Future, an album that I nominated for one of the best albums of 2008 at mid-year.
What group was originally known as The Stalk Forrest Group and The Soft White Underbelly?
Win It Before You Can Buy It…right here, right now!
Recorded in Todd’s current home state of Hawaii, ‘Arena’ is yet another notable addition to Rundgren’s remarkable career as a performer, songwriter, and producer. The album showcases his unique songwriting style and sonically captures the essence and energy of arena rock with bombastic, guitar-driven tunes like ‘Mountaintop’, ‘Strike’ and ‘Mad’, while the anthemic song ‘Mercenary’, transports you to a stadium with its epic chorus, with ‘How Do You Like Me Now?’ resounding to every seat in the house.
To enter to win Todd’s new rockin’ Arena album via a digital download card (all the jams without all the unsightly plastic), just leave a comment below with your favorite Todd song, and we’ll let you know via email if you’ve won.
Cheers and Good Luck!
UPDATE (as of Thursday 9/25): Hey all, thanks for playing. The winners have been chosen and contacted, so the contest here is closed. BUT, if you still want a chance to win, head on over to the Nights With Alice Cooper blog and enter there. Many more will be given away!
*thanks to Hi Fi Recordings
…East Village Radio