Disco Biscuits Spring Selections, Ann Marie Calhouln Plays Ripple, etc.

I would highly advise anyone who has not heard any of the Disco Biscuits' Spring tour shows to do so IMMEDIATELY. I don't know what happened in the last year, but this band is on freaking fire right now. I got a taste of it at Langerado but I figured it was just an on night; how was I to know that they were on an epic upswing?

Anyways, here's a taste of what level this band is playing at right now. I especially enjoyed the futuristic Bill & Ted-esque riffs Barber plays about 8 or 9 minutes in. I've also added "Glastonbury" from the third Tractor Beam show as a bonus.




Ann Marie Calhoun, who you should remember from her unbelievable, jaw-dropping rendition of Phish's Stash on YouTube, released another tube: the Grateful Dead's "Ripple." I have no idea how she does it but somehow she is able to transform 1970's psychedelic rock into 1870's country-western. Simply amazing.



In other news...

In case you missed it, the Sonic Bloom Festival will feature Zilla, Lotus, Bassnectar, EOTO, and others. The festival will take place June 19-21 in Winter Park, Colorado.

The Weight lists their worst songs ever

Coventry brings you some downloads of Phil pwning faces with Trey and Page along with the Mountain Jam schedule

Consequence of Sound bring you their Festival Outlook

Pro-Shot Jammy's Videos Released

Well it seems that many professionally-shot videos from last week's Jammy Awards have been released; here's a few clips...

Page McConnell with Roy Haynes, James Carter, Nicholas Payton, and Christian McBride - Cars Trucks Buses (Part 1)


Page McConnell with Roy Haynes, James Carter, Nicholas Payton, and Christian McBride - Cars Trucks Buses (Part 2)


Trey Anastasio with the Fab Faux - Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)


Warren Haynes and Grace Potter with Booker T. Jones, Will Lee, and Joe Russo - Gold Dust Woman


Grace Potter with Rosehill Drive - Mississippi Queen

Jammy's Recap Videos

The 7th and final Jammy Awards took place on Wednesday night. In case you missed it, check out the highlights from Hidden Track or from Runaway Dinosaur.

I've gone ahead and collected the videos of Trey sitting in with the Fab Faux, Phish accepting their lifetime acheivement award, and the Headcount All-Stars' (Jake from Umphrey's Mcgee, Barber and Brownstein from the Disco Biscuits, Joe Russo, and Kyle Hollingsworth from the String Cheese Incident) Phish tribute.

Trey sits in with Fab Faux for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"


Better video, worse audio of Trey "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"


Trey's acceptance speech


Mike, Fishman, Page, and Trey's acceptance speeches


Headcount All-Stars "Wilson"


Headcount All-Stars "Run Like an Antelope"


Headcount All-Stars "Maze"


Sidenote: the best part of these videos is that Brownstein is in full Bobblehead mode.

In other Phish-related news, Trey will play a solo acoustic set at the Newport Folk Festival this August.

Phishy Tuesday Links

Alright phanners I finally did it. I made it through the first year of law school.

Although I can't say for certain that I no longer regret going, I definitely regret going a lot less now that the first year is over. As an added bonus, now I have time to re-devote my efforts towards the things that really matter in life: mainly, Phish.

So without further delay...

Trey Anastasio will release "Original Boardwalk Style," which is a live recording of the 11-member Trey Band from 12/30 and 12/31/06 in Atlantic City. Many have referred to these shows as some of the best TAB to date.

Here's the track list:
1. Drifting
2. Plasma
3. Shine
4. Alive Again
5. Mud City
6. Simple Twist Up Dave
7. Tuesday
8. Money, Love and Change
9. Mr. Completely

Exclusive Digital Bonus Track
10. First Tube

I'm kind of disappointed that they only included 10 tracks as opposed to the entire performances. Especially because I remember watching some of the videos from last year thinking that these shows had to be pretty good.

Trey Anastasio Band - Makisupa Policeman - 12/31/06



Trey Anastasio Band - Peaches En Regalia - 12/31/06


In other Phishy news...

Jambands.com has a great interview with Chris Kuroda.

Here's some video of Mike Gordon sitting in with Page McConnell this weekend at Jazz Fest (thanks to Coventry for the tip)

Ann Coulter a Deadhead?!?

This is just hilarious! The notoriously evil Ann Coulter claims to have been a Deadhead in this 2006 Jambands.com interview. Sounds kind of legit, though some of her answers are a little too vague to me...

Otherwise...

-Hidden Track interviewed Page McConnell about all sorts of stuff...

-Mike Gordon's got to show off his new bass last week with Gov't Mule

-how do you get 60 million people to fight over 20 million tickets? Hold a Led Zeppelin reunion show of course...

-Austin City Limits was last weekend; other than a freak fire see how these folks liked it: [Hidden Track] [Billboard]


And I'm glad someone got the outro to "JaJunk" from the Taft the other night! Although the sound quality of the clip isn't amazing you can see why I am still raving about it

Catching Up

Let's just say that a combination of a lost ATM card, traveling across the country, and a wretched little bubble called Palo Alto has prevented posts for almost a week. Here's what went on...

-a giant Phil & Friends fall tour was announced

-the initial Vegoose lineup was released - Umphrey's, Franti, and STS9, and then...well...I'll limit my comments to "I don't hate Superfly Productions any less today"

-Austin City Limits announced their official aftershows

-Page McConnell and Mike Gordon rocked the Simpsons Movie premiere

-Arcade Fire addes U.S. tour dates

-the real Guns 'n' Roses will reunite to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Appetite for Destruction (without Axl)

Once you're done catching up check out these assorted links of fun...

-get your Trancegression Podcast from Umphrey's website (sweet!)

-video of Tea Leaf Green 4/22/06 @ CBGB's

-oh yea, and a robot that plays Guitar Hero

Internet Radio Saved!

From Wired:

"At today's Congressional hearing about the new rates for online radio that would essentially destroy it, SoundExchange, which was scheduled to receive the new royalty payments on Monday morning (since the enforcement date falls on a Sunday), made a startling statement. The SoundExchange executive [Jon Simson, executive director] promised -- in front of Congress -- that SoundExchange will not enforce the new royalty rates. Webcasters will stay online, as new rates are hammered out."

Nice!

In other news...

-get your Page McConnell High Sierra workshop performance torrent here or just get "Wading in the Velvet Sea" and the outro to "The Squirming Coil" as flac files (unfortunately, still no video)

-the SFGate interviews Owsley - the man is not only a legend and a genius; but he's pretty damn funny too...

-Wilco adds Fall tour dates

40+ Lb. Mushroom Found

Yesterday a 41 lb. mushroom was found in a forest in Chiapas, Mexico. In completely unrelated news, the Allman Brothers Band have canceled the rest of their Summer dates and replaced them with a massive tour of Southern Mexico...more updates to come as this story develops...

In real news...

-get your Page High Sierra torrent (courtesy of Here Comes the Flood)

-Aerosmith will tour North America

-EOTO announces Summer tour dates

-is your iLife feeling empty? Maybe a Yellow Submarine iPod will help

-clips of Robert Plant's performance July 8 in Romania

-brooklynvegan's got the lowdown on The Decemberists

-support internet radio, call your congressman

Wading in the High Sierras

Anyone lucky enough to be at the Q & A session with Page McConnell at the High Sierra music festival got to see the Chairman of the Boards play "Army of One," "Strange Design," "Wading in the Velvet Sea," and the outro to "The Squirming Coil" (if anyone has or knows of any footage of this I would GREATLY appreciate a link). Here's "Cars Trucks Buses" from his actual High Sierra performance...



-you can also read a review of Page's 07/07/07 Hollywood show here

In non-Page news...

-moe. will perform on NPR's World Cafe on Friday, July 20. Stream the show here via WXPN Philadelphia or visit the World Cafe web site for local showtimes

-get the latest Umphrey's Mcgee podcast here

-stream "Burlap Sack and Pumps" and "Sidewalks of San Francisco" from Trey's new album, The Horseshoe Curve

-KyndMusic's got an exclusive interview with Jason Hann (complete with podcast)

-The Police still fight with each other like little girls

-finally, a Partyin' Peeps Public Service Announcement: "Busted: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters"

Tea Leaf Green, ALO, & New Monsoon to Play Dance of the Dead

Tea Leaf Green, ALO, and New Monsoon will headline this year's Las Tortugas Festival of the Dead October 25-28 in Groveland, Ca. Otherwise...

-listen to moe.'s killer 07/06/07 show at the Cape Cod Melody Tent

-KyndMusic reviews D.U.M.B. 07/01/07 @ Pompano Beach, Fl

-Phil & Friends played a virtually private show last night; at lease we can see the setlist

-and of course, Page McConnell's High Sierra setlist

-Grateful Web discusses Bob Weir, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Mr. Blotto, and Festival Philosophy

-The Police used a teleprompter to remember their lyrics

-Thanks Axl! I was wondering why you didn't play Live Earth

-Nickel Creek adds more pre-hiatus dates

-June 23 declared "Bluegrass Day" in the state of Colorado

-Always good for a laugh: stoners running from the police

-the trailer for Bob Dylan's new movie "I'm not there" started floating around; check it out for yourself

This Week in the World

Wow it's been a busy week - and with Bonnaroo only a day away there's hardly time for any of it...

-the Lollapalooza schedule was released...let's just say I could be more upset about missing it this year...

-speaking of underwhelming schedules, Hidden Track previews the key Bonnaroo schedule conflicts

-Farm Aid will take place in New York City in early September

-Rage Against the Machine added an Alpine Valley show

-G. Love, Slightly Stoopid, and Ozomatli announced the Summer Haze Tour

-Page breaks out Army of One in Indy...

-Mountain Jam gets reviewed

-the Live Music Blog takes a hiatus

-oh yeah, and go get the latest Nugscast before Bonnaroo! (side question: does this mean that 08/13/93 at the Murat will be the next LivePhish release?)

-if you're looking for more music, get your Ben Harper on over a Rock Music Daily

-and for a good laugh, a heckling fan (of better music) provoked a fight at last night's Fall Out Boy show in Chicago

Today in the World

Here's what's happening today...

-apparently some of Page McConnell's rather lukewarm comments towards the idea of an eventual Phish reunion earlier this week got too many people too excited; now he's backing off (maybe he really likes the solo thing) - either way, here's his 6/5 setlist

-Tom Marshall and his group Amfibian will release "Skip the Goodbyes" (featuring a special guest spot by Trey Anastasio) this Tuesday (June 12)

-RAQ is set to play Lew-Au II in late July and phanphest 3.0 in late August

-moe. for free in Pittsburgh

-Hidden Track celebrates the H.O.R.D.E. Tour 15 years after its inception

Today in the World

-Hidden Track ponders a new Trey release of "Seis de Mayo" proportions

-the Disco Biscuits added Umphrey's and a few others to Camp Bisco (I for one didn't realize they weren't part of the initial lineup)

-The Weight reviews the Asheville Music Jamboree

-Rock Music Daily does an invaluable service with Mountain Jam torrents (click here for their Phil & Friends MP3s) (such as what Burning Oak did for Summer Camp)

-Page's Philadelphia Setlist, and a brutally apathetic review (with pictures) from Hidden Track

-What Rolling Stone calls the "25 Best Slow Dance Songs" I would call the "25 Worst Songs Ever"

Monday Monotony

Looks like someone has a case of the Mondays! Here's what's going on so far...

-didn't get to see Phil at Mountain Jam? (or you made it but lost your camera and don't remember anything?) Download last night's Phil show here or check out the setlist and photos here

-apparently the Weightstaff watched High Fidelity last night and want you to give them your top five life-changing albums

-The Rolling Stones are set to release their new Martin Scorsese documentary "Shine a Light" on September 21.

-UB40 is suing Paris Hilton...apparently the second verse of her new hit single consists of nothing more than "UB40" repeated over and over again

-Check out a classic bootleg: The Who at Monterey

-and of course, it's Mountain Jam Mule Monday over at Rock Music Daily

-phillyBurbs interviews Page - here's the response to the inevitable Phish reunion question:
“I hope we'll play together someday...We're all still friends...Fishman played on four songs on my album. Trey came into the studio for a few hours. It was really nice being around them again. I can see us back together again since our breakup wasn't over something petty, like many breakups are. It was just time for us to take a break for awhile. Who knows what's going to happen to us in the future?”

-speaking of Page, download his 6/1 show at Lupo's or check out the setlist and photos here, and here's a review of his 5/30 performance

-on another Phishy note, the Coventry Blog just posted my favorite Simpsons episode. Can you guess which one? I'll save you the effort

Everything Page

Page McConnell kicked off his Summer tour last night (5/30/07) in Burlington, VT. It was basically a safe show, focusing on his new material. One highlight of the night was when Mike Gordon joined his phormer band-mate for a rendition of "Back in the Basement". Click here for photos from this performance.

Thanks to the beauty of YouTube we can all watch a few clips from last night's performance.

Back in the Basement



Strange Design



Stuck in the Middle With You



5/30/07 Setlist: Heavy Rotation, Runaway Bride, Maid Marian, Memories Can’t Wait^, Beauty Of A Broken Heart, Final Flight*, Rules I Don’t Know, Close To Home, Complex Wind, Back In The Basement %, Everyone But Me

Encore: Strange Design, Stuck In The Middle With You#

^ Talking Heads
* Vida Blue
% with Mike Gordon on bass
# Stealers Wheel

(Thanks to Hidden Track for the Setlist.)

Thanks to Phantasy Tour we also have updates, a review, and some funny tidbits from tonight's show in Boston (apparently someone in the crowd kept yelling "2001" and eventually Page responded with "it's 2007!")

5/31/07 Setlist: Back in the Basement, Close to Home, Maid Marian, Heavy Rotation, Walk the Proud Land#, Runaway Bride, Final Flight, Complex Wind, Machine Gun^

Encore: Cars Trucks Buses

#Bunny Wailer
^The Commodores

In addition, according to official sources, as Page's tour rolls along the Chairman of the Boards "will be performing at an intimate Live Radio Show Taping of ETown on Sunday, July 15 at 7PM at The Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO."

Today in the World

Busy news day...

-Page (whose begins touring again tonight) added a slew of west coast dates

-Umphrey's will headline the Riverview Music Festival August 25-26 with Tea Leaf Green, Cornmeal, Brother's Past, and others

-The Disco Biscuits added two more dates to their summer run

-Ryan Adams mapped out his Summer tour

-Stewart Copeland promised not to play the same old reunion show at Bonnaroo

Page McConnell: Page McConnell

After two days of not making it to any store respectable enough to carry the new Page McConnell CD before it closed, I finally managed to snag a copy. My first impression was actually something to the effect of "I bought the right CD, right?" Something about Page's voice just sounded too artificial to me on "Beauty of a Broken Heart" as well as "Heavy Rotation" (with Mike Gordon on bass). Don't get me wrong; the musical arrangements on the CD are fantastic, and as I continued listening, the album slowly but surely grew on me, but I had a really hard time with the album at first.

Then I had a reality check:
First, Page's new album was not intended to be a greatest hits of my favorite Phish songs that have Page on vocals. Second, it's a studio album!

Once I realized that my main complaint with the album (other than the absence of three particular characters of note) was the vocals, and that my main complaint with the Page's vocals was that he didn't sound as good as he did live, my mood changed almost instantly. I think that the majority of the tracks on this CD lay down a great basis for some really great live performances. I'm confident that, in the same way that Phish's studio albums were eclipsed by their live performances, Page McConnell's pretty good CD will be eclipsed by amazing shows.

Here's a Jambase interview with the Chairman of the Boards, though not quite as good as Hidden Track's Page interview earlier this week.

Play it Leo!!!!

Page McConnell's self-titled album, Page McConnell, was officially released today. I haven't picked it up just yet, but will hopefully be doing so by the end of the day.

Hidden Track was fortunate enough to sneak in a few minutes with the Chairman of the Boards, discussing Page's upcoming nationwide tour, the new band, the new album; and of course, Phish: past, present, and future.

After reading, it seems that McConnell seems to have joined the "I'm so over Phish" club (or maybe they're all actually over Phish...that's a scary thought), nothing "Phish was just an amazing ride that we were able to take with the fans. It’s hard to imagine it happening again in that way. I’m loving what I’m doing now, but it’s a little bit different. That was such a magical journey, and so innocent too. It started off so small with such good intentions and a lot of hard work, and then a lot of luck. It was good timing that let us do all the things that we did."

When asked "Do you still see and talk to the your former bandmates?" Page replied "I do. I talk to the guys in the band. I see Mike more than I see the rest of the guys. We try to get together about once a week to play chess. We’re all talkin’ these days."

Most importantly, Page will be back on tour. In addition to his previously scheduled tour dates, Page responded that he will "be doing more shows in the summer, and there’s certainly the possibility that a festival date will be in there somewhere...There will be more." With the tour conspicuously wrapping up the day before Bonnaroo, there's probably a decent chance of Page playing the Tennessee festival.

Click here to read Hidden Track's full interview with Page McConnell.