The music world lost a great this week – we’ll miss you Levon Helm – may your backbeat roll on forever. Here’s some vids to enjoy and look back on the musical journey of one of the greats.
The Weight from The Band’s Last Waltz:
Levon and his All Star Band do Up On Cripple Creek in 89:
Levon Helm Band doin’ Tennessee Jed on Letterman in 09:
Levon Helm, ‘When I Go Away’ Studio Track from Dirt Farmer:
Levon Helm Band w/ Bob Weir pickin’ on Deep Elem Blues at GOTV 2011:
Returning now to our WTN Picks series, a retrospective on Phish’s 2011 NYE run, today we highlight a rocking and raging two song sequence of Sneaking Sally and 46 Days from NYE 2011. This rambunctious duo got laid down mid-way through set two and is full of serious peaks, some dirty funk, a nice vocal jam in Sally, and all-around solid and tight playing from the whole band. Many would agree the 46 Days is the (if not one of the) highlights from the NYE show. You can check out both in this multi-cam vid:
The honorable mention for WTN pick from 12/31 is a tie between Steam, which traversed some out there and exciting territory, and Light, which also went off nearing epicness before it was prematurely steered into Golden Age. Both honorable mentions below:
Also be sure to check out the other WTN picks from Phish’s 2011 NYEMSG run here.
The High Sierra Music Festival announced their initial lineup this week. Topping the bill is Ben Harper, Galactic, STS9, Railroad Earth, Toots and the Maytals, ALO, Lotus, and Soulive. Take a look at the announcement vid below:
3. Allman Brothers Band Beacon Run Underway
The Allman Brothers Band annual Beacon Run has kicked into high gear and runs until March 25th. This year, the band has decided to open the second set of each show with a special mini acoustic set during which they will dust off old gems and offer new acoustic takes on classic ABB songs. Check out this comprehensive review and setlist from Saturday night’s show.
4. All Good Adds Bands
The All Good Music Festival, which is re-locating this year to Thornville, OH, just added some new artists to the growing lineup today: Yonder Mountain String Band, Conspirator, and ALO are the biggest new names to join the fest. You can check the full lineup here.
5. Phil Lesh Opens Terrapin Crossroads
Phil Lesh opened his Terrapin Crossroads this past weekend with a series of ‘casual’ shows featuring a number of phriends such as Bob Weir, Jackie Greene, members of Railroad Earth, the Bluhms, Mark Karan, Phil’s son Grahame Lesh, and many others. Phil and Friends will have a massive run coming up from March 17th to April 1st with tons of guests.
Today marks the three year anniversary of Phish’s triumphant 3/06/09 Hampton, VA reunion show. The opening notes of Fluffhead rang out, shocking the arena and making an affirming statement to the phan base of “We’re back”. For those in attendance including yours truly, this is a musical moment and event that has few, if any, parallels. That evening, we all felt the feeling we’d forgot, and remembered the joy and magic that is the live Phish experience.
Hampton Fluffhead jam
Over the past three years, Phish has grown and matured, albeit with some bumps in the road. 2009 saw a regaining of musical chops and the initial integration of Joy material into the repetoire. In 2010, the band had settled in and began to loosen up by extending some jams, adding new covers and originals, and creating some memorable gimmick shows like Guyutica and MPP II’s Saw It Again fest. While 2011 saw repetitive song selection and lack of new material, there were musical highs last year that were not nearly matched in 09′ or 10′. Superball, UIC, and Dick’s were top-notch Phish – shows that had phans in resounding agreement that ‘They’re back’. Unfortunately, this 3 year story ends with a lackluster MSG 2011 run that faltered likely due to lack of practice and no warmup shows.
Dick’s Roggae, Ghost->Guy Forget masterpeice
What’s in store for 2012? It’s hard to say, but I think the fanbase is demanding a couple of things: new material, practice, and extended jams. This is the year that the Phish 3.0 story can take off and continue to thrive, or could begin to stagnate. Here’s to hoping it’s a magical year full of the highest highs and fewer lows. Regardless, we can all rejoice that, despite your opinion on 3.0, the band that got away is back, and we can all feel good about that.
If night 2 was a survey of different Grateful Dead eras, choice covers, and a classic Phil and Friends segue-heavy show, night 3 was the much ‘purer’ night of Grateful Dead music. The focus of the night was on 60s and early 70s material, with nearly every song drawn from the pre-1972 Grateful Dead songbook and only one outside-the-box cover in Layla. While the setlist may have been more straight down the fairway on night 3, the intensity and precision of the music continued to be at its highest, with Warren and Scofield most notably finding harmony and cohesion even more than in past nights.
The highlight of the night was an absolutely barn-burner set 2 opening sequence of Stephen->Eleven that featured an out-of-this-world hot bass solo from Phil and silky smooth segue into a raging Eleven. What a night and what a way to end a great run with a bang, enjoy setlist and downloads below. Also, see my previous review from night 2 which now has downloads available as well. Thanks Phil (and friends), for a real good time!
Phil Lesh and Friends, 1st Bank Center, Broomfield, CO 2/18/12
Set 1: Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) > Viola LeeBlues > Bertha, Cumberland Blues, Friend of the Devil, Candyman, He’s Gone > Cold Rain and Snow
Set 2: St. Stephen > The Eleven > Foxy Lady Jam > Layla, Bird Song, Uncle John’s Band > Stella Blue, I Know You Rider, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad > Attics of My Life
Let’s chill out on this Sunday with some great Jerry and Trey YouTubes. Specifically, let’s take a look at their solo endeavors including a full JGB show from 89 and some of Trey’s recent orchestral performances. How sweet it is to see both of these musical geniuses outside of their ‘day jobs’, doing what they love and keeping the music flowing.
Concert Photography by David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions
JGB, 9/5/89, FULL SHOW
Trey with the Atlanta Symphony, 2/9/12, Divided Sky
As we turn the corner into February, let’s take a look at an exciting upcoming run of shows going down next month. Phil Lesh will reunite Phil Lesh and Friends for the first real P&F shows since 2008. All the info that’s fit to print on these shows can be found below.
Phil and Friends Broomfield Flyer
Who: Phil Lesh and Friends, featuring Warren Haynes, John Scofield, and Jackie Greene on guitars, Jeff Chimenti on keys (just added today!), Joe Russo on drums, and Phil Lesh on bass guitar.
What to Expect: Phil-heads everywhere (yours truly included) have very high expectations for these shows. This is an all-star band and the combination of Warren and Scofield is not something to miss. Expect high-energy, fast-paced, psychedelic versions of Dead classics, lots of covers, maybe some new Furthur cuts, a few Jackie Greene originals, and some surprises as well I’m sure.
To wet your appetite for these shows, and give you a taste of what this lineup is capable of, check out this Phil and Friends show form Mountain Jam 2007 that featured Warren and Sco on red-hot dueling guitars. Or just sample the few vids below from that epic night…
Maybe we here at WTN are late to the game on this one, but it seems there has been a recent surge of full-length set and show concert videos showing up all over YouTube. For live music phreaks, this is, uh… amazing! It’s like a live music concert DVD store with free instant streaming has landed in my living room. In case you’re not sure what I’m talking about, here’s some choice examples below, enjoy phanners and happy Friday!
Note: The embedded vids below take some time to load. Be patient, it will be worth it!
Phish live in 92 from Shoreline:
Grateful Dead NYE 78′ the closing of winterland:
2/21/2003 – Peak Oxy years stuff right here:
Bisco 12/29/2010 – the standout show from last year’s NYE run w/ Sammy on drums:
A couple musical highlights from this past weekend in NYC Jams:
The annual NYC Freak’s Ball moved over to the Brooklyn Bowl and expanded to two days of big names and big jams last weekend. Warren Haynes, Eric Krasno, Joe Russo, Scott Metzger, and Marco Benevento came out to play to just to name a few of the freaks. This event is a testament to the thriving and growing New York City jamband community. Check out Jambands.com review and Relix’s video from the big gig.
Umphrey’s McGee played Friday and Saturday night shows at NYC’s Best Buy Theater to celebrate their 14th anniversary. The shows have received rave reviews from Umphreaks everywhere, as UM continues to blow up their shows with tight and energetic live performances. The prog-rockers covered Daft Punk and brought out Jennifer “J-Ha” Hartswick for a debut cover of the late Etta James ‘At Last’. Check out official LiveDownloads SBDs or head over to Jambands.com for their review of the smokin’ shows.
UM
Elsewhere in the big apple, the music never stopped this past weekend with shows from Avicii, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Ozomatli, and Zeds Dead. There truly is nowhere in the world like NYC for live music – the city that never sleeps, and never stopps jamming!
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