Derek Trucks — “Layla”
I was almost this good when I was 13. Really.
Did You Know??
Bonnie Bramlett wrote the song, “Groupie (Superstar)” about a brief dalliance she had with Eric Clapton in ’67-’68. Several performers have recorded the song through the years, the most popular version being The Carpenter’s take on the song. They released it in ’71 and it became a big hit, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Here’s the Carpenter’s version:
And for good measure, here’s the Farley/Spade version from Tommy Boy, one of my wife and father’s favorite movies.
Did You Know??
A young, five year old Courtney Love was photographed with the extended Grateful Dead family for the back cover of 1969′s Aoxomoxoa. Courtney’s father, Hank Harrison was an early manager for the band and a roommate of Phil Lesh. If you look real close, she’s the little girl to Pigpen’s left.
“Follow that!”
That’s reportedly what Neil Diamond said to Bob Dylan after exiting the stage during The Band’s Last Waltz performance. A slightly bemused Dylan retorted, “What do I have to do, go on stage and fall asleep?”. Game, set, match, Zimmy.
Phish — Summer ’10 (so far)
From Jambase.com:
So far, So good…
IT changes your life, and as transcendent music, it simultaneously surprises and awes us. Harnessing that power, Phish have demonstrated over the course of almost 27 years why they are one of the most versatile touring acts in rock history. Today, Phish still continues to earn new fans, while charming even the most belligerently jaded of their aging base by tossing them a bone now and then.
This is not to say that it’s “all Hood.” Phish is not the same band that played non-stop for ten hours at Cypress ten years ago to festively baptize a millennium. They are not improvising as boldly and routinely as they did, say, in August 1993 or December 1995 or November 1997. But, in context, the highlights of their shows these days are just as meaningful now as they were back then. Phish is playing well, and almost all of their shiny new original songs, which debuted on this tour, appear to show at least as much promise as any Rift, Hoist or Joy tune ever did. (more…)
Umphrey’s McGee — Halloween in St. Louis
Get ready, folks. UM will be hitting Saint Louie with some mash up madness on 10/30 and 10/31. Example A:
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young — “Wooden Ships”
Here are the “frozen noses” or, er, ah, CSNY performing “Wooden Ships” from ’74.
moe. — Utica, NY (10/31/98)
You like old school moe., too? Man, I sure do. This Halloween show from Utica ’98 catches the band shortly after the release of Tin Cans and Car Tires. Check it out.
10/31/98 Stanley Theater – Utica, NY
1: Don’t Fear The Reaper*, Akimbo, Jazz Wank > Spaz Medicine > Buster, Blue Eyed Son, 32 Things
2: Bring It Back Home, Sensory Deprivation Bank**, Timmy Tucker# > Brent Black##, Moth
E: Plane Crash, Freebird*^
* First time played. ** With “Smokin’” Joe Bonamassa on guitar. # With “Peter Gunn” theme and “Interstellar Overdrive” (Pink Floyd) teases. ## With “Meat” and “Timmy Tucker” teases. ^ Al on keyboards for first half of song.
Happy Birthday — Carlos Santana
Happy 63rd to Carlos, who also has recently become engaged to drummer, Cindy Blackman. Here’s a classic clip of his former band performing “Soul Sacrifice” from the Woodstock movie in 1969.
Lost Art Of The Mixtape — Sunday Hangover
Here’s a mix that’ll help you through your haze, headache and nausea. Too bad it can’t erase what you did/said last night.
Kinky Reggae – Bob Marley
Cosmic Charlie – Grateful Dead
Guinnevere – Crosby, Stills & Nash
Scarborough Fair – Simon & Garfunkel
From The Beginning – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Little Martha – The Allman Brothers Band
4 + 20 – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Sugar Mountain – Neil Young
Can’t Find My Way Home – Blind Faith
He Was A Friend Of Mine – The Byrds
Embryonic Journey – Jefferson Airplane
Talk – Phish
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) – Simon & Garfunkel
Rosemary – Grateful Dead
The Sun King – The Beatles
Crazy Fingers – Grateful Dead
Music Is Love – David Crosby
Going To California – Led Zeppelin
Can’t Run But – Paul Simon
In The Waiting Line – Zero 7
Sleep – The Dandy Warhols
Across The Universe – The Beatles
Phish — July 3rd (Alpharetta, GA)
As a kid, the night before Christmas was always my most sleep deprived evening of the year. I would climb in bed, dreaming of the toys and goodies that Santa’s seemingly bottomless sack would deliver to our den. I would toss and turn, awakening at an hour that would beat a farmer’s wake-up call. I would then venture into my parents room and ask them if we could go and see what Santa had brought us. Invariably, my parents would ask that I come back and wake them when the big hand was on 12 and the little hand was on 7. Of course I was three hours early and waiting until 7 was going to seem like an eternity. But the clock would just tick….. tick……tick…………………….tick.
Now that I’m much older and time moves much faster, situations like my Christmas eve/morning time creep are few and far between, but every now and then something comes along and I get that old familiar feeling. That nervous energy accompanied with generous portions of insane anticipation. It had been quite some time since I’d revisited it, but here it was on the afternoon of the eve of Independence Day and I couldn’t wait for our evening’s festivities to begin. You see, my favorite band, Phish was in town and just happened to be playing in my backyard, well, not literally, but in Alpharetta, a suburb of Atlanta and my wife and I were catching the band on the last two nights of the tour. In my 17+ years of seeing the band, I’d only been able to sleep in my own bed a handful of times. This would be one those times.
The scuttlebut on this tour was that the band was once again playing with razor precision. The rust that inevitably collects was gone and they were once again a finely tuned, firebreathing machine, capable of dizzying heights. Not only that, but they were playing at the Verizon Ampitheatre in Alpharetta, a venue that was still sparkling from its newness, possessed an astonishing sound system and didn’t have a bad seat in the house. I had hedged our bets and got PIT tickets for both nights making sure that we’d be as close as possible to the action.
After hanging at the pool that afternoon, we made our way to the venue, no problem. Friendly faces, friendly staff and (ahem) friendly cops. There’s nothing like the tension in the air before the band takes the stage. We chatted amiably with the folks around us, making idle chatter, knowing the lights would soon drop and the evening’s entertainment would begin. And then it did.
The band came out all smiles, no doubt pleased that this new venue was packed to the rafters and that they had a few tricks up their sleeves for this pair of shows. The first ceremonial wick was lit as the band fired up Character Zero, a song that has been known to get a crowd rocking before firing into my first Destiny Unbound. The crowd bounced along to the exploits of HiWay Jill and Bill, unaware that this wouldn’t be the only rarity of the set. A standard Rift was performed before Trey snagged a “McGrupp” sign from the crowd and the launched into the old school favorite, which was I was personally overjoyed to hear. The band continued on with Bathtub Gin, which I’ve always loved, but has proven to be amongst my wife’s favorites as well. Gin was the first song of the night that allowed the familiar Trey/Mike double helix groove to bound from the stage, as Page’s tinkling keys shimmered, taking golden light.
A collective breath was taken with Mountains In The Mist, seemingly possessing more tenderness before launching into the ska beat of NICU, which made me remember many years ago people calling it “In An Intensive Care Unit”, forcing me to smile. The band followed with a brief Gumbo, which I tend to like a little spicier, before the next course of My Sweet One and Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan. After snacking on a Clif Bar and some cold green tea, we ventured into Page’s first vocal of the night with, Strange Design. Another first timer for me was up next with Sanity. At this point I was thinking, this is a long set, are they going to end with the quirky, bizarre song from Junta? But noooooooo. They came back to end the set with a fire breathing antelope, that scorched down the mountaintop with a fierce fury. The first of the four sets was over and my goodness, they set the tone.
Lou Reed’s influence was felt in the second set opener, in the form of “Rock and Roll”, which dissolved into “Prince Caspian”. As we floated upon the waves, I thought to myself that the next song is going to be a game changer. As Caspian’s digital delay devolved into the void, the crunch funk of Tweezer heated up. Dance Party ’10 was now underway in Alpharetta with our gracious amphibians as hosts. Tweezer gracefully danced and kanoodled until morphing into a cosmic city visit in the form of “Slave”, a song that allows all members to flex their collective muscle, with Trey’s ‘doc leading the way. I thought to myself during this display, does any band play better as a cohesive unit? I couldn’t think of any, which led me to a conclusion that I’d made 15+ years ago. These guys are my favorite.
Bouncing Around The Room was up next, followed by Possum and Backwards Down The Number Line. All standard versions, but all still great songs. Harry Hood stepped up to the plate, wanting to get in on the party. Always an anomaly, the song combines elements of reggae, metal, new age and joy. The band followed with their take on the Jagger/Richards song, Loving Cup, which to my ear trumps the Stones’ version. Actually when I first heard Phish play the song back in the mid-’90′s, I embarrassingly assumed it was an original, but Phish truly makes it their own. After completing the song, the band left the stage, concluding the second set, Only to return to play Trey’s ode to his “monkey” in Sleeping Monkey, with the obligatory nod to the Beatles in the middle section (Velvet Underground, Stones & Beatles?!? in one night?!?!) and then close the show with Tweezer Reprise.
As we walked to the car, I turned to my wife and said, “What do you think they have in store for tomorrow??” We had no idea…
Phish 7/4/10 to follow. Stay tuned.
All photos are courtesy of the very talented Derek Martinez.
