Hangout Music Festival 2011 Lineup Announcement Slated for tomorrow (2/1/2011) at 1 p.m. EST

                                Photo by John David Mercer/Press-Register - al.com


Organizers have announced that they will unveil the 2nd Annual Hangout Music Festival lineup tomorrow, February 1st at 1 p.m. EST.

Trey Anastasio - First Tube @ 2010 Hangout (finale w/ fireworks) - Pretty rough audio, but you get the picture

Yo La Tengo at Tipitina's Uptown - 01.29.2011

This post is copied from LIVE MUSIC BLOG: NOLA

The champions of snark put on one of the more unique and FREEWHEELING live shows I’ve ever seen on Saturday night. I managed to go into the show with very few pre-conceived notions of what to expect from a Yo La Tengo performance besides what I have learned from listening to the band’s two brilliant records (2009′s Popular Songs and 2006′s I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass) so I was well aware that the band kinda sorta lacks a middle gear, which is totally cool (as opposed to bands like Spoon that I would describe as nearly all middle gear — again, cool with me). I just didn’t realize that lead singer Ira Kaplan doubles as a stand-up comedian, the dude is hilarious. For this tour the band is lugging around a wheel of fortune with various adjectives and phrases. Whatever the needle lands on loosely determines the theme of the night. 

For more, click here

Hangout Fest 2011 Lineup Announcement Delayed

As lineup-watchers eagerly awaited for today's planned lineup announcement, the Hangout Festival dude-powers-that-be put a halt on the release and told us that they are holding off on the big announcement until Tuesday because of a late, and reportedly big-time addition to the lineup...for more go to Live Music BLOG: NOLA

Jake Shimabukuro Bohemian Rhapsody on the Ukulele

Breezy ukulele cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" by the world's greatest ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro, as featured on NPR Music. To check out Jake's take on one of the most-covered songs out there, click here

The Radiators Review on Live Music Blog: NOLA

                                        Photo by Jimmy Grotting - Radiators 01.21.11 @ Tip's

Here is my review of last Friday's Radiators show at Tipitina's --

Less than five months until the band’s career-closing three-night run being billed as The Last Watusi (also at Tip’s), the Radiators returned for their last Anniversary shows at Tip’s, rounding out a multi-weekend celebration to recognize Tipitina’s 33rd Birthday. The organizer of the High Sierra Music Festival made the trek over to New Orleans for the shows to lend his support to the band that has been large part of HSMF for years, introducing and thanking them for their contributions to his festival and the world of music. Not knowing much about their music, their fans, or their history it was fun to see the night unfold as a blank slate. Walking into Tip’s...

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Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Round and Round television debut -- Last Night on Jimmy Fallon

If you needed any further proof that late-70s disco-soul androgyny was back in style, look no further than this video of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti performing last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Ariel kind of looks like Kurt Cobain if he would've gone all Ziggy Stardust on the world.

Introducing - Live Music Blog: NOLA

Head on over to http://nola.livemusicblog.com/ and check out my new web site for some
intense coverage of the New Orleans live music scene.

Trent Reznor Wins A Golden Globe for Best Original Score

Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor took home the prize for Best Original Score at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards for his excellent work and original compositions for The Social Network. The award is a testament to one of the more ambitious creative forces in rock music and Reznor's still cresting relevance as a 40+ year old musician (on a short list with Jay-Z in that age bracket).

Aside: My vote for Best Picture after tonight: The King's Speech

Coachella 2011 Lineup Rumors, Speculation, Guesses, Wishes, Etc...

From Stereogum

Definitely (Maybe)


Paul McCartney

R.E.M.

Pulp

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Best Coast

Sleigh Bells

The Drums

The Sundays

Menomena

Bright Eyes

Flying Lotus

The Decemberists

Educated Guesses

Kings Of Leon

PJ Harvey

Sonic Youth

Diplo

Cut Copy

Lykke Li

Fleet Foxes

Cults

Deerhoof

Mercury Rev

The Go! Team

Toro Y Moi

Okkervil River

Destroyer

Wavves

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

Iron & Wine

Pure Instinct

Gang Gang Dance

Big Boi

Hercules & Love Affair

Akron/Family

… And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead

The Streets

Cut Copy

DeVotchKa

The Foo Fighters

Longshots

David Bowie

Daft Punk

Kanye West

Lady Gaga

The Beastie Boys

Dr. Dre

The Cars

Arcade Fire

Radiohead

Outkast

Björk

Sufjan Stevens

Lupe Fiasco

Gwyneth Paltrow

And a wishful thinking type poster below...

Gregg Allman - Low Country Blues - NPR First Listen

NPR Music's latest "First Listen" offering is Gregg Allman's newest solo album Low Country Blues. You will only be able to hear it for a limited time on NPR for free, so seize the opportunity. Plus, the album was produced by T-Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, etc...) so you know it'll be great. Doesn't hurt either that Gregg is probably my favorite rock singer of all-time...

LINK

From NPR --
Gregg Allman has one of the most distinctive voices in American music. Going back to the thrilling tracks of the early Allman Brothers albums — including my favorite, Live at the Fillmore East — Allman's vocals have made him a rock star and a staple of classic-rock radio. But I've always heard a blues singer.

Low Country Blues, out Jan. 18, gets Allman back to the roots he and brother Duane shared as they set out from Macon, Ga., on the unpredictable adventure that became the Allman Brothers Band. This stripped-down collection of covers (and a few Allman originals) was produced by T-Bone Burnett, who seems to possess an inexhaustible appetite for interesting settings that push established musicians past their comfort zones.

In this case, Allman was joined by Dennis Crouch, who only plays acoustic bass, and Jay Bellerose, who played drums with calfskin heads that deliver an old-school sound appropriate for the material. Doyle Bramhall II had a tough job: how not to sound like any of the amazing guitarists associated with Gregg Allman over the years (Duane and Derek Trucks come to mind). His playing adds another fascinating chapter to Allman's recorded legacy, which sounds reinvigorated here.

Moon Taxi | New Years Eve 2011 | Nashville - Exit/In

Moon Taxi :: 12.31.10 :: Exit/In :: Nashville, TN


For many, New Year's Eve is pejoratively referred to as “Amateur Night”, due in large part to overhyped/overpriced New Year's parties that never quite meet expectations, sardine-packed bars, and the sheer number of people getting twisted on libations and losing their wits. Those who frequent this web site and likely attend one of the choices on the full menu of live music events being offered nationwide probably share the sentiment that New Year's Eve is the night of all nights in the live music world, a chance to see one of your favorite bands stretch it out, try on a few musical costumes and put their signature stamp on the back end of the year. After Widespread Panic in ’09 and My Morning Jacket in ’08, this year the show of choice was Moon Taxi in Nashville, and a chance to see a band I’ve been lucky enough to watch progress from the very early days playing tiny bars and college parties in Music City.

At Nashville’s famed Exit/In down on Elliston Place, the local workhorse virtuosos displayed a level of professionalism and precision only attainable from weeks of planning and practice. As a musician friend aptly put it, this show was a statement for the band. The performance included a host of covers, the band’s genre- bending and well sung array of originals, numerous special guests, and a blinding assortment of pop songs from 2010 to bade adieu to the year in impressive fashion. The Alabama-bred and Music City based quintet has relentlessly toured over the past several years and organically attained a sizeable and loyal fanbase in the Music City, as well as their native Birmingham. The past couple years have been especially prosperous as Moon Taxi continues to gain notoriety nationwide as a rising star in the jam scene, in large thanks to numerous major festival appearances and supporting slots on major tours. This year’s event sold out in advance, perhaps indicating that a notch up to a larger venue for the occasion in 2011 may be in order. Musically, there are few young bands out there brimming over with this level of talent and a genuinely infectious enthusiasm that emanates with every note. Particularly, guitarist/vocalist Trevor Terndrup has the rare ability to engage the person in the back of the room and command their keen interest, the sort of lead singer who actually sounds even better in person than on record, a rarity.

As any band should know, New Year’s Eve calls for a little something extra (which is usually built into the ticket price – however, this one was a bargain considering what we got) calling for a few additional days of practice to learn some new cover songs and a rearrangement of some originals. After Friday, it is evident that this is a familiar formula that Moon Taxi already seems to have mastered for their New Years shows. The venue’s web site misstated the starting time for the show, but luckily we got down to the show early and only missed the show opener, walking into an already roaring scene as the band took on the relatively older song “Mustang” from 2007’s debut LP Melodica with it’s appropriate lyrics for such a bacchanalian occasion: Raise my glass tonight/I say we can fly if the wind is right. After a chunk of newer songs and a couple including a drum line (which didn’t make too much of a difference until their guest spot on the encore), a guest tenor sax player joined in for a first-rate take on MJ’s “Thriller” towards the end of the first set. The lighting display was demonstrably thought out and a nice accent to the music onstage, and notably pronounced, even in the relatively small 500 or so person venue. Before taking a set break, the band seamlessly tore through an incongruous, yet cohesive medley of radio-friendly hit songs from the past year, which included verses from Justin Bieber’s tear-your-ears-out/annoying song “Baby”, Mumford and Son’s, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Vampire Weekend, Cee-Lo’s “Fuck You” and amusingly capping the medley with “Bed Intruder Song” (easily the crowd favorite of the medley), the YouTube sensation-turned hit “hide yo kids/hide yo wife” song. The medley was a brief, year- in-review style retrospect on the good, bad and the ugly from pop radio and a jaw-dropping display of this young band’s canyon-esque depth on both a musical and vocal front. One of those wow moments that had everyone turning to the person next to them, wide-eyed and grinning, asking if that really just happened.

After a brief intermission, the band returned to the stage just minutes before midnight, counted down, raised a glass and busted through “Auld Lang Syne” amongst balloons and a confetti cannon shower, creating a unique and colorful scene inside the generally dark and drab venue (endearing qualities generally speaking). With the lighting display and New Years decorations, Exit/In actually took on a little bit more of a festive demeanor for the special night. Next, it was The Who classic “Baba O’Reilly”, an excellent cover choice to ring in the new year, giving keyboard player Wes Bailey an opportunity to show off his remarkable ability on this tune, certainly staking a claim as a rising star on his instrument of choice. A lightning fast run through the Talking Heads “Life During Wartime” was an ideal mid-stride second set addition to help keep the high-energy crowd thriving. Throughout the evening, lead singer Trevor Terndrup showcased his exceptional vocal talent (in the musical progeny of Sublime’s Bradley Nowell) that seems to work best within the reggae/dub milieu, but is limber enough to sing metal, rock and country when duty calls for it. The inspired presentation oscillated healthily between lighter, groovier fare and New Years raucous-inducements (including the first successful stage dive I’ve seen in countless shows at Exit/In), as evidenced by the oxymoronic new slow jam “Square Circles”, the dead ringer dub odyssey of “Here To Stay”, and the proggy second set closer “Whiskey Sunset”. Finally, the tribal/drum-line’d take on Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams” helped send the crowd on their way into the soggy night in a blissed-out stupor, raving about what they had just taken part in, as local DJ Kidsmeal kept the after party spinning late into the night.

Moon Taxi :: December 31, 2010 :: Exit/In :: Nashville, TN

I: Skipping Stones, Mustang, Mercury, Square Circles, Common Ground, Cabaret (w/ drum line), All the rage (w/ drum line), Thriller (Michael Jackson - w/ sax), Information center> 2010 Medley (included verses from Justin Bieber, Vampire Weekend, Mumford & Sons, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Cee-Lo Green, and the Bed Intruder Song), Pennies From the Grave (w/ DJ Kidsmeal)

II: NYE Countdown > Auld Lang Syne, Baba O'Riley (w/ sax), Who Do You Think U R (w/ sax), Life During Wartime (w/ sax), Southern Trance, Hypnus, Around The Sun, Gimme a Light, Here to stay, Gibson > Whiskey Sunset > Drums > Whiskey Sunset

E: Hideaway, River of Dreams (Billy Joel - w/ Sax and Drum line)
This Ride Ain’t Stoppin’ Anytime Soon
Nashville

Billy Joel - "River of Dreams"

2011 New Orleans Jazz Fest Lineup -- Where Is It?

                                               Stevie Wonder at Jazz Fest '08

Scheduled for April 29, 30th, May 1st and May 5, 6, 7, & 8th, 2011 at the New Orleans Fairgrounds.

Rumors? Leads? When will this be released? Last year's weekend lineups were released in mid-December. Still nothing as of yet...

For info on last year's Jazz Fest, visit the festival's home page

7 Walkers - Album Review for Relix

Despite its ties to the Grateful Dead world, 7 Walkers’s debut is a New Orleans classic, thematically professing an unconditional love for the tortured soul of the Crescent City. 7 Walkers is informed by the time-honored sounds of the backcountry swamp featuring Papa Mali, Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Meters bassist George Porter Jr., harmonica ace Matt Hubbard and others. It is refreshing to hear such talented artists content with assembling subtly deviating lines and simple melodies. However, these vets are also willing to move into the unknown on tracks like “Chingo,” the balladeering “Evangeline” and “Louisiana Rain.” Beautiful instrumentals, like the offbeat “For the Love of Mr. Okra,” could have easily been beamed down from a group of veteran jazz players jamming down on Frenchman Street. Those looking for an infectious staple should look no further than “New Orleans Crawl.” And make sure to check out the excellent guest spot by Willie Nelson on “King Cotton Blues.”

Breathe Owl Breathe - Magic Central - Review for Relix.com

The following review is also available here and is in the 2010 Holiday Issue of Relix Magazine --

The trio Breathe Owl Breathe spent time together living as roommates and recording this album in the close quarters of a rural Michigan cabin (“Magic Central”). Magic Central is an alluring record, shifting with ease from a Nick Drake style gravamen in the reverent opener “Own Stunts” to the lounge-y playfulness of “Parrots in the Tropical Trees.” The charming vocal chemistry between Micah Middaugh and Andrea Moreno-Beals amid the organic sounds of cello, acoustic guitars and drums are invitingly familiar. Equal parts fireside-in-the-easy-chair and urban sophistication, this welcoming 12-song set takes you outside the sprawl and into the woods, with an up close and personal seat in the band’s creative center.

Venue Spotlight on Tipitina's Uptown New Orleans

Should be a good month down on Tchoupitoulas/Napoleon as the venue celebrates its 33rd Anniversary. A list of featured shows in the coming weeks. For more visit http://tipitinas.com/

1/12 (Wed.) - Cornmeal (Jamband/Bluegrass) - $11
1/14 (Fri.) - The Funky Meters + DJ Soul Sister (NO Funk) - $30
1/15 (Sat.) - Kermit Ruffins & The BBQ Swingers (Jazz) - $15
1/21-22 (Fri.-Sat.) - The Radiators 33rd Anniversary Show (Rock) - $20
1/29 (Sat.) - Yo La Tengo (Rock) - $15