The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You – Terminal 5 – 5/10/12

Every once in awhile you get the premium spot to record video from–namely the front row, pit, or an elevated section where fans’ heads and other cameras aren’t in your way. Once you shoot your stellar vid you go home and either upload it, or it sits on a hard drive to be forgotten. This vid of The Avett Brothers was one of those primo vids…great vantage point (handicap section in an otherwise sold-out packed venue), good sound…and just an amazing capture of an awesome performance of the phenomenal performance of “I and Love and You” from the Avetts. BUT, when I got home and started the transfer…this video VANISHED and automatically deleted from my computer and from the Flip Cam HD that I use. So upset I could’ve cried, my husband Scott Bernstein (a computer genius and audio taper) SAVED THE DAY by running software on his computer that brings back recently deleted files. He calmed me and said he’d be able to save the video and lo and behold he did!! Without Scott this amazing video would have been nothing but a memory…but alas, here it is…in all its glory.

Citizen Cope Joins Soulive During Bowlive Residency

Last night two amazing Brooklyn based bands joined forces at Brooklyn Bowl. Soulive invited Citizen Cope, among many other guest musicians that night (hello George Porter, Jr.! hello Skerik! hello Billy Martin!) to the stage to perform a handful of songs: Some older, some newer … and all amazing. In this vid capture, Eric Krasno, guitarist for Soulive, really nails the soft and gentle dynamics of Cope’s “Something to Believe In” a tune previously written and recorded by Cope for Debi Nova. For me, the pairing of Soulive and Cope brought together two very different musical worlds and sounds. I’m a big fan of both–but was wondering how they would mesh. Would the slightly jazzier Soulive jive with the understated melodies of Cope’s super-mellow, sometimes emo-driven lyrics and vocals? The answer was, simply put, yes. If you’re familiar with the ever-moving nature of Soulive (see Rubber Soulive the band’s take on The Beatles Rubber Soul) you’d know that as a band they are so musically adept that they just as easily can adapt. That’s the beauty of Bowlive, the pairings and special guests that are invited and join the Soulive sound.

Blissfully Freaked Out

Hard to believe that last weekend we were at the Garden. While shooting this vid from the back of the 100-level section I remember being blissfully freaked out. It combines a sick light show from the creativity of Chris Kuroda’s mind and a beautiful and spacey jam from Phish. Moments like these were rare at the Garden this year. You’ll hear a lot of stretchy Clavinet from Page McConnell (Chairman of the Boards!!) and the treble of Mike’s bass punching through and accenting the song (I think the end of Piper?) with some upfront activity.

New York Guitar Festival – Feat: Mike Gordon, Larry Campbell – World Financial Center, Winter Garden

The 2012 New York Guitar festival kicked off this past evening at the Winter Garden Atrium,  in the World Financial Center, by celebrating 30 years of Brian Eno’s album, “Apollo: Atmosphere and Soundtracks.”

The album, played LIVE for the first time ever, featured Mike Gordon (bass) Larry Campbell (guitar) David Torn, Noveller, and Jeff Parker. A tribute to NASA’s Moon landings, Eno’s album imagines very ethereal, peaceful-yet-haunting, moving, and spacey(literally!) sounds and soundscapes.

Played in its entirety, Eno wanted the music to induce a feeling of “weightlessness” and so there’s no way  a note-for-note replication could be created of these highly-complicated tracks–though, if any band has come close–it was this lineup.

This video of the band “jamming” captures the band improvising on their own, after completing the album, and  being introduced to the full house at Winter Garden. Oops, looks like you’re not allowed to see that video!! Also amazing were the moving images of nebulae, swirling dust, and spoken word about the Apollo moon landings and NASA. Remember kids: We are all molecules.

PHISH – 2011 NYE RUN – Friends & Photos

Who had fun on New Years? I did, I did!! We had an amazing four-night run at Madison Square Garden with Phish! Here are some moments (you won’t find them in a box) that I captured of the band, the scene and my friends! Oh, and there were fans dancing in the air (SKYWALKERs!!) AND a bunch of WHITE meatsticks!! Don’t miss my video of “Down With Disease” showing all the New Year’s madness in my previous post!

PHISH NEW YEAR GAG – 2011 – DOWN WITH DISEASE

Phish rings in the New Year with “Down With Disease” at Madison Square Garden. Complete with aerial dancers, balloon drop and a white out of meatsticks!!

Download: Mike Gordon, The Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH

Mike Gordon kicked off a mini-tour of New Hampshire this past weekend with two shows. The first, on Saturday, 11/12/11, at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, featured two sets from Mike’s steady lineup of musicians: guitarist and vocalist Scott Murawski from Max Creek, drummer Todd Isler from International Orange, percussionist and mad-beat-dropper Craig Myers from Rubblebucket, and keyboard wizard Tom Cleary teacher of jazz at the University of Vermont.

**To download an iTunes ready version of the Mike Gordon show from The Music Hall, taped by Ted Gakidis, please click here.**

The show mostly showcased tunes off Gordon’s recent album Moss, (“Horizon Line,” “Spiral,” “Fire From A Stick,” and “Can’t Stand Still”) which, over the past year have been road tested and remain mainstays in the band’s repertoire.

Drawing from his second album, Green Sparrow, Gordon opened his second set with “Dig Further Down” and closed with “Traveled Too Far.” Sprinkled throughout the show were covers that ranged from bluegrass (Bill Monroe’s “Walls of Time”) to pop (Alanis Morrisette’s “Hand In My Pocket”); and even Gillian Welch’s “Time (The Revelator)” and Little Feat’s “Skin It Back.” The second set closer, The Who’s “Wont Get Fooled Again” was a first for the band.

Scott Murawski sang “Willow Tree”–a tune he brought from his other band, Max Creek, and Tom Cleary performed an original in each set, “Crumblin’ Bones” and “Be Good And You’ll Be Lonely,” which features three-part harmonies between Gordon, Murawski, and Cleary. Gordon stretched out and revisited two older fan favorites, “Couch Lady” and “Susskind Hotel” before closing out the first set.

Mike Gordon ended the evening with an encore of the GRAB original “Hap Nappy” and Tower of Power’s “Down to the Nightclub.”

Trey Anastasio Band – Snake Head Thumb – Fall Tour 2011

Trey band came to the Jerz last night as part of his fall 2011 tour. Last night, for only the fifth time, the band played the straight-up blues “Snake Head Thumb” co-written with the Dude of Life (Steve Pollak) which premiered for the first time at the Burlington, VT show (10/1/11).

I had the chance to talk to the Dude last night outside the Wellmont Theater where he let me know that he was writing a bunch, and that Trey would perform the new song for us. I was looking forward to hearing it–and the tune fit in really nicely. You may be seeing some new Space Antelope shows coming to light–we’ll see the quality of tapes and if someone (@Scott_Bernstein) wants to take on the project.

Space Is The Place – Sun Ra Arkestra

The final space walk is under way right now. Crazy to think that astronauts are 240 miles above us, floating weightless, while they make repairs to the Space Station. I’m bummed that there’s no more funding for space exploration. In the meantime, we can still teleport through music. Take this wonderful performance from Sun Ra Arkestra, led by saxophonist Marshall Allan, of “Space Is the Place.” A fitting tribute on a day like today…

 

We’ll wait for you…

Cactus Cafe: Mike Gordon, Bluebird Cafe, 11/19/10 mp3 download

iTunes ready  – Mike Gordon from Bluebird Cafe, Bloomington, Indiana, 11/19/10.

Welcome to a really tasty Mike Gordon show. The Bloomington show is cool for a number of reasons. As the 12th show in a 17-date tour, the band has hit their stride. Performing loosely, the gig has a laidback and experimental feel…even though there are a number of relatively new songs to tour with from Mike’s latest album, Moss.

Mike starts us off with the far-out-there sounds of the Kaossilator before launching into the bass-driven, “Fire From A Stick” and then a lengthy 14-minute version of “Voices” possibly the longest ever (?!), with an incredible jam section and, some footbell action?

My favorite segue of the show pops up next–guitarist Scott Murawski powers through the Max Creek tune “Emotional Railroad” into The Beatles “She Said, She Said” in a seamless transition. Both tunes take turns teasing one another! “What Things Seem” slows the pace (with the exception of the always exciting rockstar ending), Mike banters about Feng Shui, and then bam! a different sounding “Weekly Time” is thrown at us. Rounding out the first set is keyboardist Tom Cleary’s sing-along “I Sure Miss My Mind”, percussionist Craig Myers badass rapping covering “Things That Make You Go Hmm” and a personal favorite to end, “Couch Lady” from Inside In…Mike’s first solo album.

Second set the crowd gets a little chatty (bugs me during Morphing Again which I find so melodic and lovely)–and the taper’s recording (actually the monitor guy for the venue) misses part of the drum intro–a first-time-played “Mt. Philo” by Todd Isler and Craig Myers. Listen for the original name (end of track 12). We also miss the encore because of another taper fail! His batteries died. Well, we can’t get upset at the only known recording of this show, and we appreciate tapers (thank you Patrick Moore). Oh, so 2nd set. We get back-to-back Moss tunes: “Can’t Stand Still” which Scott M. absolutely shreds on and “Spiral” which has Mike and Scott beautifully weaving and tossing the melody back and forth to one another (about 8 minutes in, check it out).

But, as LeVar Burton used to say, “don’t take my word for it!” Check it out fer yourself!

Click here to download Mike Gordon, Bluebird Cafe, from Bloomington, IN, 11/19/10