Farewell to McCarren Park Pool as Concert Venue
Photo © Penningtron
McCarren Park — Brooklyn’s hot spot for indie rock concerts and general summertime fun — has officially closed down. Well, at least as a concert venue. The hipster mecca has succumbed to local community forces and will return to its original status as a community pool. Sonic Youth closed out the venue with a final show this past Saturday, and brooklynvegan has the photos from the night.
The NY Times has a nice little retrospective on the short-lived Brooklyn venue. I’m not sure if there will ever be anything like it again, but I definitely think it has helped breathe even more life into the Brooklyn concert scene which can only be a good thing.
Phish Friday | Old School August ‘87, Part II
Last week, I dug back into the archives to highlight an old-school show from 8/21/1987 that captured the band during a fertile period of their career, both in terms of their songwriting and their live show. My selections gave a nice overall feel for the different types of tunes and improvisation they were putting together back at that point. But after a few more listens, I decided that this show deserved a Part II, as there’s just too much fun stuff going on here to skip over.
This segment includes some great moments and wild segues (and it also has much less dog-barking than last week’s selections!). Check it out:
- Phish – McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters (live, 8-21-1987) > [mp3]
- Phish – Str it Up Jam With (live, 8-21-1987) > [mp3]
- Phish – Makisupa Policeman Jam. (live, 8-21-1987) > [mp3]
- Phish – David Bowie (live, 8-21-1987) > [mp3]
- Phish – Sanity (live, 8-21-1987) [mp3]
Lotus | Fall 2008 Tour Dates and New Album
It looks like Lotus has finalized a massive fall tour and plan to release a new album on October 14, called Hammerstrike. I last caught Lotus in Charlottesville for a seriously sweaty dance party. The place was sold out and packed to the gills. I was rather impressed at how well they had honed their improv chops and were able to get the party moving. So it’s no surprise that they’re able to headline some larger venues on this next tour. These young dudes from Philly have really come a long way.
Although Lotus is definitely more of a live band, they can piece together a decent album. Here’s a brief write-up of Hammerstrick according to the SCI Fidelity:
Hammerstrike (October 14, 2008/SCI Fidelity) finds the band reaching back in order to move forward. Primarily recorded live in one room to analog tape by Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog, Man Man), the album captures a sound that harkens back to the 70’s but never slips into nostalgic retreads. The compositions are focused and melodic, filled out with orchestration including swelling violins and cellos, banjo, wordless choirs, and electronic noises. Though the tracks range from dance floor ready rockers to soaring post-rock instrumentals, the album is held together by a sanguine spirit pervading each track. The big guitars, feedback, and distortion serve an optimistic purpose. It is a decidedly American feel that invokes big skies, open roads, and a zealous yet naïve pursuit of the idea that defeat will never be conceded.
Heh, “sanguine spirit.” You gotta love those promo copy-writers at SCI Fidelity. Sounds interesting.
Full tour dates after the jump…
Ryan Adam & the Cardinals | 2008 Fall Tour Dates
photo by 6tee-zeven
Any Ryan Adams fans out there? The guy might be a bit unstable, but he sure can write a great tune. Ryan and the Cards have lined up a pretty solid fall tour. Check it out:
September 25th – Schenectady, NY – Proctor’s Theater
September 26th – Syracuse, NY – Landmark Theater
September 27th – Rochester, NY – Auditorium Theater
September 29th – Columbus, OH – Palace Theater
September 30th – Cleveland, OH – PlayhouseSquare
October 2nd – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
October 4th – St. Louis, MO – Fox Theater
October 5th – Madison, WI – Overture Hall
October 7th – Ames, IA – Stephens Auditorium
October 9th – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
October 10th – Tulsa, OK – Brady Theater
October 11th – Grand Prairie, TX – Nokia Theater
October 13th – Austin, TX – Paramount
October 14th – Houston, TX – Verizon
October 16th – Tuscaloosa, AL – Bama Theater
October 17th – Atlanta, GA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Lots of these shows are on sale or have pre-sales coming up via ticketmaster (password is: SPACEWOLF).
Phish Friday | Old School Gems from August ‘87
For this week’s Phish Friday, I thought I’d drop a quick post with a look back at the old-school, a show the band played back on 8/21/87 at Ian McLean’s Farm.
This was one of the first truly old-school Phish tapes I got back in the day. I can still envision the hand-writing on those old XLIIs and remember some endless car treks with this show as the accompanying soundtrack. It captures the band at a unique point in their early career, with the silliness in the stage banter, a truly young sound in their voices, and some yet-to-be-perfected improv chops. Everything fun and interesting about old-school Phish exists on these recordings.
Here are a few gems that always get me:
- Phish – Clod (live, 8-21-1987) > [mp3]
- Phish – The Curtain With (live, 8-21-1987) [mp3]
- Phish – Light Up Or Leave Me Alone (live, 8-21-1987) [mp3]
- Phish – Shaggy Dog (live, 8-21-1987) [mp3]
- Phish – Wilson (live, 8-21-1987) [mp3]
Trinumeral 2008 | Small Festival Perfection in NC
All photos by James Y
LMB contributor, Mike S., has continued to hook us up with interesting festival reviews. Here’s his latest from the smaller Trinumeral festival outside of Asheville, NC.
Last week, as I realized how quickly another summer was beginning to fade, I started to seek out one last weekend bash complete with everything that these short and sweet months provide. Thanks to some strong convincing from a friend, I made the last-minute decision to head to the Trinumeral Festival outside Asheville, NC, and man, was it one hell of a party! It was the perfect combination of location, weather, and solid performances that I will not soon forget.
Drive-By Truckers, Hold Steady to Tour Together This Fall
Just saw this news coming through the inbox and it just rocks — plain and simple:
You’ve heard the rumours – and this rock and roll wet dream is coming true.
Drive-By Truckers and The Hold Steady have teamed up to bring you the Rock and Roll Means Well Tour this Fall! Catch the double-rock show in cities across the country. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 10AM ET.
Dates via drivebytruckers.com
Rock and Roll Means Well Tour Fall 2008:
10.30 Louisville KY COYOTE’S @ CITY BLOCK (HS Closes)
10.31 Nashville TN RYMAN AUDITORIUM (DBT Closes)
11.01 Atlanta GA TABERNACLE (DBT Closes)
11.02 Tallahassee FL THE MOON @ FSU (HS Closes)
11.03 Raleigh NC LINCOLN THEATRE (DBT Closes)
11.05 State College PA THE STATE THEATRE (HS Closes)
11.06 New York, NY TERMINAL 5 (DBT Closes)
11.07 New York, NY TERMINAL 5 (HS Closes)
11.08 Philadelphia, PA ELECTRIC FACTORY (DBT Closes)
11.09 Boston MA ORPHEUM THEATRE (HS Closes)
11.11 Toronto ONT PHOENIX THEATRE (DBT Closes)
11.12 Pittsburgh PA CARNEGIE MUSIC HALL (HS Closes)
11.13 Bloomington IN BLUEBIRD (DBT Closes)
11.14 Chicago IL RIVIERA (HS Closes)
11.15 Minneapolis MN FIRST AVENUE MAINROOM (DBT Closes)
11.16 Minneapolis MN FIRST AVENUE MAINROOM (HS Closes)
11.19 Boise ID THE BIG EASY (DBT Closes)
11.20 Seattle WA THE SHOWBOX (HS Closes)
11.21 Seattle WA THE SHOWBOX (DBT Closes)
11.22 Portland OR CRYSTAL BALLROOM (HS Closes)
11.23 San Francisco CA THE FILLMORE (DBT Closes)
11.24 San Francisco CA THE FILLMORE (HS Closes)
11.25 Los Angeles CA THE WILTERN (HS Closes)
Pre-sale tickets go on sale Tues, 8/19 at 10AM ET
All Good Music Festival 2008 | Review, Take II
All photos by Mike aka swanny0586
We’re featuring another guest post from the latest Live Music Blog recruit, Mike S., who also spent this past weekend up Masontown, WV at the All Good Music Festival. Mike not only offered up some of his thoughts and highlights from the weekend, but he also snapped some seriously solid photos of the weekend’s activities. Check it…
“Wild and Wonderful and All Good”
Masontown, WV hosted the 12th annual All Good Festival this past weekend. As I’m originally from Pittsburgh, All Good has always been a close gem tucked in the mountains. But now, I have to travel up Rt. 33 from Charlottesville, one of the most scenic drives I have experienced on the east coast (as you can see from the photo above).
This weekend marked my third time on Marvin’s Mountaintop, and the third time I have been completely blown away. The lineup was especially exciting for me because, being a guitarist, it featured all of my favorites: Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Jimmy Herring, and Warren Haynes. And man, did they deliver. Here’s a quick recap of some of my favorite sets from All Good. If you dig the photos, be sure to check out the complete set from the weekend…
All Good 2008 | Some Photos and Highlights
The All Good Music Festival came and went in a flash of beautiful West Virginia mountain sun and jammy improvisational madness. Overall, the event was less the well-oiled machine than some of its larger festival rivals. But what it lacked in organization and “we think of everything” cohesion, it made up in simple, laid-back fun in a beautiful West Virginian mountain setting. That, and a solid lineup of mainly jam-oriented rock’n'roll. If you wanted a mid-size festival with some of the stalwarts of the jam scene and not all that much else, then this was your festival.
Here’s a brief glimpse of some photos that captured the weekend’s good times and a few highlights I couldn’t help but throw in for good measure. Luckily, I had some serious help in the photo department from our newest LMB recruit, Mike S. Mike dropped his first LMB review just a few weeks ago, but it didn’t take him long to jump into the festival coverage with reckless abandon. Look out for a bit more from him shortly. For now…
Camp Bisco VII | Schedule Announced
Although providing a jam “intervention” for Kyle Gass of Tenacious D is a big deal, throwing your own festival is much bigger.
The Disco Biscuits’ own Camp Bisco VII kicks off next weekend in Mariaville, NY. We’ve known about their full lineup for a while now, but they’ve just announced the full weekend schedule [PDF]. Should be plenty of grooves there if you think you’ve lost yours and need an intervention.