If you’re not lucky enough to be catching Jack Johnson or the Raconteurs in the warm climes of Indio, CA this weekend, you can at least check them out in the comfort of your own home. The AT&T Blueroom will once again be webcasting the Coachella Vally Music and Arts Festival over the next three days.

Without being live on the scene, we can’t catch “the purple one” or Justin’s fav techno band, but the webcast will feature many of the other great bands from that killer 2008 lineup.

Also, don’t miss the nice little mp3 sampler of Coachella bands pieced together by the I am Fuel, You Are Friends blog. (tip of the hat to Some Dude at HT for the link)

Full webcast schedule after the jump…

Friday, April 25:
11:00 AM Breakfast with Jack Johnson
05:50 PM Jack Johnson
06:50 PM Redd Kross
07:40 PM Les Savy Fav
08:35 PM Architecture in Helsinki
09:30 PM Slightly Stoopid
10:25 PM Rogue Wave
11:15 PM John Butler Trio
12:10 AM Tegan & Sara
01:05 AM The Raconteurs
02:10 AM Serj Tankian
(all times are ET)

Saturday, April 26:
06:05 PM The Bird and the Bee
06:55 PM Man Man
07:45 PM Dredg
08:35 PM VHS or Beta
09:30 PM DeVotchKa
10:25 PM Hot Chip
11:25 PM Animal Collective
12:15 AM Portishead
01:10 AM Flogging Molly
02:10 AM Yelle
(all times are ET)

Friday, April 27:
06:00 PM Brett Dennen
06:50 PM Electric Touch
07:40 PM Shout Out Louds
08:30 PM Duffy
09:20 PM Manchester Orchestra
10:15 PM Stars
11:10 PM Spiritualized
12:15 AM Gogol Bordello
01:10 AM Metric
02:05 AM Love and Rockets
(all times are ET)

photo © JordanFischer

Nice. It’s about time we get some new music from the Whigs.

I recently got the latest copy of Paste Magazine along with their complimentary CD sampler. I failed to notice it at first but later discovered that the disc included a new track by the Whigs. Discovering this not only got me stoked to immediately give it a listen, but it also made me realize the band’s finally got a new album on the way. And it’s about time.

Although I never got sick of their debut, Give ‘Em All a Big Fat Lip, it was released way back in 2005. They’ve been touring pretty heavily since then, and when I caught their live show in spring of 2007, they were still playing those same tunes. They still rocked, but I kept thinking they really needed some fresh material.

Well, here it is. The Whigs are dropping their new album, Mission Control, this Tuesday (1/22) and throwing release parties this Friday (1/25) in Atlanta and Saturday (1/26) in their hometown of Athens, GA. They’re also slated to play Letterman (1/28), and they’ve lined up a nice U.S. tour for the early months of 2008. Like I said, nice.

Listen:

• The Whigs – Right Hand on My Heart [mp3]

(you can also check out a few more new tracks on their MySpace page)

The Whigs have been compared to the Strokes, and they may have taken some inspiration from ATO label-mates, My Morning Jacket. But these comparisons may only be somewhat accurate, as their sound is grittier than MMJ and doesn’t have quite the pop-punk swagger of the Strokes. I really dig Parker Gispert’s distinct vocal growl, and their live set is pure energy. They write songs that tend to get stuck in my head — but in a good way. The vocals are raw, the hooks are solid, and they leave just the right amount of musical space for the songs to breathe.

Overall, the Whigs remind me that even in this day of complex, indie chamber-pop and drawn-out electro jamming, there’s still room for good ole’ three-chord guitar rock.

The Whigs 2008 Tour Dates:

01-25-08: Atlanta, GA. @ CD RELEASE SHOW @ The Earl w/ Wax Fang and the Sammies
01-26-08: Athens, GA. @ CD RELEASE SHOW @ The 40 Watt
01-28-08: New York, NY. @ Late Show with Dave Letterman
01-30-08: Chapel Hill, NC. @ Local 506 w/ the Sammies and Bull City
01-31-08: Baltimore, MD. @ 8 x 10 w/ Spinto Band and Plants and Animals
02-01-08: Brooklyn, NY. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Spinto Band and Plants and Animals
02-02-08: Philadelphia, PA. @ Johnny Brenda’s opening for Spinto Band w/ Plants and Animals
02-04-08: Buffalo, NY. @ The Mohawk (between Handsome Jack and Johnny Nobody)
02-05-08: Toronto, ON. @ The Horseshoe (small room)
02-06-08: Pontiac, MI. @ The Crofoot (small room)
02-07-08: Cincinnati, OH. @ Madhatter
02-08-08: Cleveland, OH. @ The Grog Shop
02-09-08: Chicago, IL @ Schubas
02-12-08: Minneapolis, MN. @ The Varsity w/ Wild Sweet Orange
02-13-08: Madison, WI. @ Majestic w/ Wild Sweet Orange and Midwest Beat
02-14-08: St. Louis, MO. @ Creepy Crawl w/ WAX FANG
02-15-08: Indianapolis, IN. @ Birdy’s w/ WAX FANG
02-16-08: Milwaukee, WI. @ Rave Bar w/ WAX FANG
02-22-08: Fayetteville, AR. -Majestic
02-23-08: Nashville, TN. @ Mercy Lounge w/ Spinto Band
02-26-08: Asheville, NC. @ Grey Eagle w/ Spinto Band
02-27-08: Charlotte, NC. @ Visulite Theatre w/ Spinto Band
02-28-08: Charlottesville, VA. @ TBA w/ Spinto Band
03-01-08: Lexington, KY. @ The Dame w/ WAX FANG
03-04-08: Omaha, NE. @ Waiting Room w/ Spinto Band
03-06-08: Denver, CO. @ Larimer Lounge w/ Spinto Band
03-07-08: Colorado Springs, CO. @ TBA w/ Spinto Band
03-09-08: Albuquerque, NM. @ Launchpad w/ Spinto Band
03-11-08: San Antonio, TX. @ TBA w/ Spinto Band
03-13-08: Austin, TX. @ Austin Music Hall supporting My Morning Jacket / Yo La Tengo (SXSW 08)

Streaming right now: Ryan Adams live at the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, via “Live Fridays From XPN.” If you miss the performance, it should be archived and available later streaming.

Sirius Satellite Radio and Grateful Dead to Create Grateful Dead Radio Channel [via PR Newswire]

This is yet another example of how the Grateful Dead niche continues to thrive and expand across generations. Although I’ve thoroughly covered much of their influence on today’s touring bands, news like this still tends to impress me.

Also, if you are not yet aware of the Grateful Dead’s own Tapers Section, it is a great (free) source of tunes and Grateful Dead history, updated weekly.

In other Grateful Dead-related news, Fader Magazine has dedicated its current issue to Jerry Garcia. The issue is available as a free PDF. Fader is also generously offering a free Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia podcast, available at iTunes or as an mp3:

• Jerry Garcia sampler – Fader Podcast [mp3]

The tracklist includes the following:

“Cryptical Envelopment” 3/1/69 – Fillmore West
“Turn On Your Lovelight” 1/24/71 – Seattle Center Arena
“New Speedway Boogie” 5/15/70 – Fillmore East
“Tore Up Over You/Legion of Mary” 4/7/75 – Keystone, Berkeley
“Candyman” 6-11-76 – Boston Garden
“Terrapin Station” 12-29-77 – Winterland, San Francisco

I was super impressed with Andrew Bird‘s live show, which I was able to catch back in April as a part of the Green Apple Festival here in Chicago. He’s got such a distinct sound and creates some really cool atmospherics with all the loops and orchestral textures.

So I was stoked to see that NPR would be streaming his upcoming show at the 9:30 Club in D.C. this Sunday, May 20. Per usual, NPR’s Live Concert Series will not only stream the show live, but will also archive it for later listening.

Here’s Andrew Bird at Coachella, doing “Plasticities,” one of my favorite songs from his recent album, Armchair Apocrypha:

Andrew Bird – Plasticities at Coachella 2007 [YouTube]

The Bob & Ron show is based here in Chicago, runs in the late-night slot on Saturday nights (midnight to 5AM), and features a ton of great live music. It looks like the first few hours is called “The Phishing Report,” so Phish Friday fans will find plenty to work with there. But they continue to play great tunes until 5AM.

They’re currently cracking me up with a version of the show based loosely on a “tax-season” theme. Phish’s “Fluffhead” is on and the tax connection is apparently the “banker” with the “powerful pills.”

I love making discoveries like these, especially when they are Chicago-themed, and of the latenight variety. I honestly don’t listen to the regular old radio quite enough.

There’s still plenty out there, I guess you just have to find it.

Tune in

Discovered here

aka the “Song Segment That Got Me Hooked…”

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a Disco Biscuits kick lately. The band was featured in our latest podcast, they just announced a bunch of Spring/Summer tour dates, and today, they added a headlining slot at the Starscape Festival in Baltimore on June 9th. With all this new “Bisco” news on the mind, I’ve been re-visiting some of my old favorites from the archives.

And because it’s April 9th, I thought I’d honor the date of a concert that is consistently cited by fans as a key show in ‘Bisco’ History: 4/9/99 at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, PA (the band’s hometown). One particular segment from this show — “Above the Waves” which segues into the end of “Basis for a Day” — was one of the first that I heard by this band that really piqued my interest. I’d also put this show into the category of “tapes that got me hooked,” with the exception that it wasn’t a tape or a CD, but just some random Mp3s (a little more appropriate for the digital era).

The band’s sound has definitely come a long way since 1999, but this show continues to get a lot of play amongst its hardcore fans. There’s just something absolutely raw and mind-bending about this segment. It features some great interplay between Aaron Magner (on keys) and Jon Gutwillig (on guitar), and a rhythm section of Marc Brownstein (on bass) and Sam Altman (the band’s former drummer) that relentlessly propels the band forward. But Gutwillig is really the one who shines as he drops his final, blistering guitar solo as the band drops into the ending of “Basis for Day.”

To the new listener, the vocals can leave something to be desired, but that’s not what this segment is really all about…it is more about a young band creating raw, psychadelic sounds that can make a crowd dance like mad and go absolutely crazy. It also includes a signature Biscuits move that I have heard the band employ frequently over the years: Just when you think they’re is going to drop into the chorus or into a new song, they will raise the level of energy just one final step, sending the crowd into a frenzy. A good example is at about minute 2:00 of “Basis.”

It is high-energy live music at its finest.

Listen:

• The Disco Biscuits – Above the Waves – 4-9-99 [mp3]
• The Disco Biscuits – Basis for a Day (ending) – 4-9-99 [mp3]

(source: The Live Music Archive)

This Friday, March 30th, they’ve got former Phish keyboard wizard, Page McConnell, streaming live from the World Cafe on Philly’s WXPN at noon ET. This will be a nice treat to fans who couldn’t grab tickets to his upcoming (sold-out) show at the Gramercy Theatre, in NYC on April 4th.

The “Chairman” is set to release his solo debut on April 17th. It’ll be interesting to see how this album compares to his previous side-project with bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Russel Batiste: Vida Blue. I remember Page’s instrumental work with Vida Blue being pretty darn cool, but overall his songwriting tended to lack some sort of depth (perhaps a bit stinted after years of being overshadowed by the behemoth songwriting team of Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall). We’ll see.

If you’re curious about Page’s first solo project, here’s a video EPK, including an interview and some audio from the upcoming release:

Page McConnell EPK [YouTube]

The North Mississippi Allstars will perform Friday at noon (ET) at the World Cafe in Philly, and the show will be streaming at WXPN and NPR.

I never knew they called their style “world boogie.” Whatever it’s called, I’ve generally liked the little bit that I’ve heard. The band recently nabbed their third Grammy nomination for their latest album, called Electric Blue Watermelon, rocked out at the Langerado festival, and are currently on a long U.S. tour taking them all over the map.

Any big NMAS fans out there?

Photo © imaphotog

Instrumental indie rockers, Explosions in the Sky, will be streaming live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., tonight on NPR through its “Live Concert Series.”

These guys recently rocked out at Langerado and really impressed me. Their sound is unique version of instrumental rock music with a definite indie appeal and some cool dynamics and time signatures. It makes for a powerful sound that is quite, dare I say, emotional (though not at all in the “Emo” sense). I dig it.

They hit the stage around 9 p.m. (ET), with Eluvium and the Paper Chase as opening acts. Stream it here tonight or check back to the same spot for the archived performance at your own convenience.