Prince - Purple Rain (12.03.11) Ottawa, Scotiabank Place- 11 minutes

Sisters Euclid (12.01.11) Orbit Room setlist

After a long standing residency (a desirable dvd 11 yrs. of Mondays catches the group at their apex) at Toronto's Orbit Room, the band has had a personnel change in the form of Hammond B3 impresaria Rob Gusevs leaving amicably for broader pastures and Mark Lalama joining the seasoned throng.  With all compositions for the Sisters Euclid written by Kevin Breit, and with the undoubted rudder that his post-country-bop-skronk playing provides, the Sisters are nonetheless a democratic band.   Bassist Ian DeSouza (now a member of Blue Note recording ensemble The Supergenerous Duo, now Trio, with Kevin and percussionist phenom ) ably interjects, rectifies, rock steadies, and rock bottoms everything that Kevin scatters off in the stratosphere. Likewise Gary Taylor invents and reinvents phrases and backbeats to keep the beast slounching forward. Lalama has ably found his place and mark, his interludes on his accordion (whether reading from E. Annie Proulx's Accordion Crimes at times) or whatever he can coax out of his Nord electro or the inhouse organ. 

On the first day of Christmas, two years since they passed the threshold of The Orbit Room their audience found them both very much the same and still pressing the envelope they sent postage paid.

Though the Sisters never write a setlist and hatching one together after the fact is troublesome at best an onstage copy with each members contributions essentially guided the night- a few passed over, a few amplified beyond recognition.

Sisters Euclid
Orbit Room
Toronto, ON
Dec. 1, 2011

Ian:

Emily Gunfighter
Big Al
Giant Steps
Helpless/ Southern Man

Mark:

Martin Scorcese
Mission Bell Blues
Donna Lee
2 Miles of Bad Road

Kevin:

Lingerie
Tumbleweed Tea
Fats
Faith Cola

Gary:

Frank and Earnest
Fellini Singalong
Eleven
Teen Town

Prince Toronto Setlist (11.26.11) Welcome 2 Canada

Prince and the NPG
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario
11.26.11

Gold
Purple Rain
Let's Go Crazy> Delirious> Let's Go Crazy
Shhh*
Mountains
Everyday People**
Alphabet St.> Love Rollercoaster***
Play That Funky Music****
Angel*****
Nothing Compares 2 U
Crimson and Clover******
______

Controversy
Sexy Dancer (instrumental)
Get Down Tonight*******#
______

Little Red Corvette##> Take Me With U
> Raspberry Beret> Cream>
Cool> Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough********
______

(grand piano sampler set)
When Dove's Cry> Nasty Girl (instrumental)>
Sign O' The Times>I Would Die 4 U> Darling Nikki (instrumental)

______

Kiss

* w. U Will Be... With Me interpolation
** Sly And The Family Stone cover
***The Ohio Players cover
****Wild Cherry cover
*****Sarah McLaughlin cover
******Tommy James and The Shondells
*******KC and The Sunshine Band cover
********Michael Jackson cover
# incl. Housequake and (Eye Like) Funky Music chants and Controversy coda
##incl. Extraloveable lyrics interpolation

11 minute clip of Purple Rain in it's entirety from the Dec. 3 Ottawa tour stop at Scotiabank Place

Prince Toronto Setlist (11.25.11) Welcome 2 Canada

Prince and the NPG
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario
11.25.11

Intro#
We Live (2 Get Funky)#
DMSR#>
Pop Life*#>
Musicology**#>
A Million Days
Let's Go
Take Me With U > Thunderstruck***>
Raspberry Beret>
Cream
Cool****> Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
______
Yesterday
Nothing Compares 2 U
Let's Go Crazy>
Delirious> Controversy refrain> Let's Go Crazy>
1999
Little Red Corvette>
Slow Down
______
U Got The Look
______
Make You Feel My Love****
Purple Rain#
______
Kiss
______
When Dove's Cry
______
(grand piano sampler set)
Nasty Girl (instrumental)>
Sign O' The Times> Darling Nikki>
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Sign> Hot Thing>Sign
I Would Die 4 U> Housequake (horn riff)>
Darling Nikki (instrumental)>
Mr. Goodnight (instrumental)>
Shockadelica (instrumental)
If I Was Your Girlfriend#
_____
Sometimes It Snows In April
_____
The Bird****>
Jungle Love****
Play That Funky Music#
_____
Dance (Disco Heat)******>
Baby I'm A Star
_____
Adore
_____
Let's Work#

#w. Maceo Parker
*w. Scrapple In The Apple (Charlie Parker)
**w. Tighten Up (The Black Keys) and  Mama Feelgood (Lyn Collins) interpolations
***ACDC cover (instrumental)
****The Time cover
*****Bob Dylan cover
******Sylvester cover

Ryan Adams to release Ashes & Fire

On the heels of a successful European tour where Adams continued to debut new songs, a number of which will be released on the forthcoming Ashes & Fire (release October 11), more news is emerging.

Given Adams predeliction for hyper-productivity - in 2005 alone for instance he famously released the Grateful Dead inspired album Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights, and 29 - his catalogue has been scattered of late between soaring highs and shattering lows (not unlike his own life).  On a number of Adams by now seminal early albums Heartbreaker (2000), Gold (2001), Demolition (2002) and the aforementioned 29, he collaborated with producer Ethan Johns son of legendary producer Glyn Johns (Rolling Stones/ The Who).  For his new release Adams has moved up the food chain as it were and is working with papa. 

It's hard to know what to expect next from the multi-faceted and fractured faces of Ryan Adams.  Here is a man who quietly wed pop singer Mandy Moore in March of 2009, is finally getting around to releasing his albums III/IV (with the Cardinals) and his own fittingly titled Blackhole, released a dismal (not dismal-good ie. most of his repertoire) 'metal' album Orion, has made repeated mentions of an album inspired by
Ronnie James Dio, forays into poetry (see for instance White Diamond), and memorably talk of presumably the 'super cool' Johns led sessions in New York and LA with contributors including Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and Norah Jones. 

Ryan Adams has released the first track from Ashes & Fire entitled Lucky Now

Ashes & Fire:

  1. "Dirty Rain"
  2. "Ashes & Fire"

3. "Come Home"

4. "Rocks"

5. "Do I Wait"

6. "Chains of Love"

7. "Invisible Riverside"
  8. "Save Me"

9. "Kindness"

10. "Lucky Now"

11. "I Love You But I Don't Know What to Say"

Arcade Fire surprise set Sappyfest (Shark Attack!)

Collectively and un-unanimously deemed one of Canada's best curated small music festival's, this year's attendees of Sappyfest in Sackville, New Brunswick (known for it's surprise guests) couldn't possibly have expected artists on this order of magnitude.  Word thankfully leaked molasses slowly that this years Grammy award winners for Album Of The Year, Arcade Fire, were unloading a 53' ft trailer on the main drag of Bridge St. and setting up in a small tent for a couple hundred people under the guise of Shark Attack!

Half way across the country in the nation's cultural capital of Toronto two scant days earlier I chanced across festival co-founder Julie Doiron (formerly member of Eric's Trip, now properly a solo artist with a bevy of collaborators) at Ronnie's Local 069 in the heart of Kensington Market. Now a registered non-profit organization, SappyFest Incorporated, the festival was initially founded in 2006 by Doiron and her business partners in Sappy Records; Jon Claytor and Paul Henderson.  Julie who splits her time between rural New Brunswick and downtown Toronto was clearly chuffed with this years lineup (most notably Vancouver's Ladyhawk, and some more obvious bets like The Sadies, Chad Van Gaalen and one of her collaborators Dan Romano, from Shotgun & Jaybird, appearing with his own band).  As in previous years one could have safely taken her caginess over 'surprise guests' to mean any number of her old soldiers in arms from the Halifax Pop Explosion days (ie. Sloan, Thrush Hermit or member Joel Plaskett).  Although given the fact that the Arcade Fire were playing Dartmouth a couple of days later, in hindsight (were it not for the appearance 'success' wise), tour routing nerds could have stumbled on this possibility more plainly.

Here's some fan video of Neighborhood #3/ Lies the last two songs of their by all accounts towering 90 minute set.

Arcade Fire, Sappyfest, Sackville, NB - 07/29/11

Ready to Start

Neighborhood #2 (Laika) 

No Cars Go

City With No Children

Rococo

The Suburbs 

The Suburbs (Continued)

Month of May

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) 

Haïti 

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

We Used to Wait

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Rebellion (Lies)

Encore:

Wake Up

 

 

Steely Dan Toronto Setlist

"Jazz-Rock ambassadors to the planet" Steely Dan (perhaps better thought of as a brand than a band-  not in the crass reality-persona-as-fragrance sense, but like Blaupunkt or Bavarian Motor Works they) are synonymous with one thing: High Fidelity.  Moreover they are properly a duo - longtime collaborators pianist/lyricist/vocalist Donald Fagen and Walter Becker- helming over the years countless ensembles of the highest paid guns of the rarified realms of jazz and rock session musicians.

On this to capacity outing, the 12,000 soft seated largely and perhaps fittingly Boomer audience members, The Duo were less backed then fronted by the 8 piece Miles High Big Band and female vocalists the Embassy Brats.  Fans of the Dan have rightly come to expect from the ensemble just what Fagen and Becker demanded as composers and producers of their hired help (the fools to do their dirty work): exasperating competence.  The studied audience no doubt also demands note-perfect renditions of their concise but incredibly dense and melifluous compositions.  Here their near constant touring of late (this marked their fourth Toronto outing in three years) bore distinct dividends.  While Fagen was undoubtedly the brass ring around which each player reached, leaving a besmirked Becker to happily play the silent partner, this version of Steely Dan felt very much - pleasantly but also surprisingly - like a band, not two bandleaders and a handful of ace sidemen and women. 

By the time Black Friday came Fagen seemed to be summoning a witching hour, a hoochie coochie swampy voodoo seance of brazen chops and pocket playing.  Rather than sticking with note and rote renditions of FM radio staples like Hey Nineteen and Boddhisattva the band seemed to have not only the moxy but moreover the requisite permission and hall pass to roam the corridors and solo tastefully within the expanded compositions. 

Holding a dead lock on the Shuffle Diplomacy tour's stage the Miles High Big Band evinced their deep kinship, in particular bassist Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington, crowd pleasing and slick-as-hell guitarist Jon Herington and perhaps most notably lazer honed drummer Keith Carlock. 

With a four piece horns section of Roger Rosenberg (Baritone Saxophone), Walt Weiskopf (Saxophone), Jim Pugh (Trombone) Michael Leonhart (Trumpet) and second keyboardist Jim Beard normally taut numbers like Dirty Work got the royal treatment.  This wasn't Tony Soprano's singalong radio version nor was My Old School which gave everyone a chance to solo like a Mardi Gras Day, giving a feeling more like they were backing Dr. John and not Steely Dan. The infusion of a live band ethos, Fagen's frequent strolls in front of his Wurlitzer's and Rhodes to solo on Melodica and Keytar and Becker's carefully traded solos (particular on the contractually obligated Reelin' In The Years) with younger gun Herington served to draw in the gathered throng well beyond deep reverence, shock and awe.

Steely Dan, Molson Ampitheatre, Toronto, ON - 07/22/11

Dizzy Intro

Aja

Black Friday

Hey Nineteen 

YGT 

Time Out of Mind

Show Biz Kids

Bodhisattva

Dirty Work

Godwhacker 

Neighbour's Daughter (Lee Dorsey cover)

Monkey in Your Soul

Josie

Peg 

My Old School

Reelin' In The Years

Encore:

Pretzel Logic 

Kid Charlemagne

Prince Montreal Metropolis Setlist

TMBPRN (The Man Born Prince Rogers Nelson) barnstormed the Montreal International Jazz Festival for two nights at Metropolis in front of beyond rapt audiences of 2000.  Having supposedly "hung up" the bulk of his populist repertoire on his last major stadium tour Prince and the New Power Generation, the Artist nonetheless unerred crowd pleasers ranging from Let's Go Crazy, 1999, Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret, Kiss and the eponymous Purple Rain.  For the more diehard fans in the mix (see all) Prince thankfully delivered (particularly during the second 4 hr. night) renditions of relative rarities like the singular Pop Life and D.M.S.R. (Dance Music Sex Romance), to say nothing of the covers ranging from Tommy James and the Shondells, James Brown, Sly and The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Motley Crue.


Prince and the NPG, Metropolis, Montreal - June 24

When I Lay My Hands On U
Crimson And Clover (Wild Thing and Foxy Lady teases)
Waiting In Vain (Andy Allo vocals)
Peach
Controversy
Pass The Peas (with Maceo Parker)
Everyday People
Let's Go Crazy/Delirious
1999
Little Red Corvette
Musicology (incl. Tighten Up interpolation)
Play That Funky Music
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (with Maceo Parker)
Purple Rain (Guitar and Piano only)
Raspberry Beret
Cream (incl. For Love interpolation)
Cool (incl. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough interpolation)

Prince and the NPG, Metropolis, Montreal June 25

Love We Make

D.M.S.R.
Pop Life
NPG jazz interlude
Musicology (with Tighten Up, and bass solo finishing with America tease).
(Song from Olivia Warfield or Shelby Johnson)
Misty Blue (Shelby Johnson)
Controversy
Freak Out
Which Way Is Up Shelby
Play That Funky Music
-------
Take Me With You
Need Another Lover
Dr Feelgood (guitar solo)
Shhhhh
Nothing compares 2 U
Joy In Repetition
-------
Pass The Peas
What Have You Done For Me Lately
Partyman
It Ain't Over
-------
The Bird
Jungle Love
I Like Funky Music
Love Bizarre
Kiss
-------
Purple Rain


New Power Generation:

Maceo Parker - Saxophone
Andy Allo - Guitar/ Vocals
Ida Neilson - Bass
John Blackwell - Drums
Morris Hayes - Keyboards
Cassandra O'Neill - Keyboards
Olivia Warfield - Vocals
Shelby Johnson -  Vocals

Ryan Adams European Tour setlist

Much to the delight of his deadicated core of undoubtedly lifelong fans Ryan Adams is out on the road again with a solo acoustic tour of Europe.  A fine audience recording of the second night in Oslo at Folketeatret can be found here at Archive.org.  Adams is currently in the studio with veteran producer Glynn Johns whose most noteable production credits include several LP's by The Who, the Rolling Stones’ Satanic Majesties Request and Beggar’s Banquet as well as Eric Clapton’s Slowhand.



Ryan Adams (solo) - June 11, 2011 - Folketeatret, Oslo, Norway



Ryan Adams (solo) - June 11, 2011 - Folketeatret, Oslo, Norway

01. Intro

02. Oh My Sweet Carolina
03. Don't Fail Me Now
04. Crossed Out Name
05. Let It Ride
06. Desire
07. The Rescue Blues
08. Blue Hotel
09. banter/intro to Dancing With The Woman At The Bar
10. Dancing With The Woman At The Bar
11. Please Do Not Let Me Go
12. If I Am A Stranger
13. banter about cell phone filming
14. SYLVIA PLATH
15. crowd/encore break
16. Come Pick Me Up
17. Two
18. Everybody Knows
19. Friends
20. This House Is Not For Sale
21. 16 Days - improv. Black Metal version
22. 16 Days



Ryan Adams (solo) - June 16, 2011 - Aula Magna, Lisbon, Portugal


Oh my sweet Carolina
Firecracker
Don't fail me now
Please do not let me go
If I am a stranger
Everybody knows
NYNY on piano
'Invisible Riverside' (new song, potential title)
200 more miles (Cowboy Junkies cover)
This house is not for sale

16 days

Breakdown Into The Resolve

English Girls Approximately

Strawberry Wine
Desire
Come pick me up

E:
'Promise' (new song)
'Come home' (new song)


Ryan Adams (solo) - June 14, 2011 - Koncerhause, Copenhagen, Denmark

Oh My Sweet Carolina
Carolina Rain
Invisible Riverside
If I Am A Stranger
Jacksonville Skyline
This house is not for sale
Halloween
New York, New York
Dancing with the woman at the bar
Everybody knows
Two
Sweet Illusions
English Girls Approximately
September
Sylvia Plath

E:
Let it Ride
'Shadow of the Light'
16 Days


Ryan Adams (solo) - June 13, 2011 - The Consert House, Malmo, Sweden

Oh My Sweet Carolina
Don't Fail Me Now
Firecracker
Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)
I Taught Myself How to Grow Old
New York, New York
Invisible Riverside
English Girls Approximately
Dirty Rain
Winding Wheel
If I Am A Stranger
Let it Ride
Desire
Cannonball days

E (all new songs):
Straight ("you go sailing through the sky")
Ashes and Fire ("and the river she cried")
Shadow in the Light ("we didn't ... she never coming back, like we did, waited all night")
Take...high ("talking about the chains of love")
Wild and Young ("remember ... wild and young...")
Come Home ("we built this house")



Ryan Adams European Tour Dates (solo)
06-10 Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus

06-11 Oslo, Norway - Folketetreat
06-13 Malmo, Sweden - The Consert House
06-14 Copenhagen, Denmark - Koncerhause
06-16 Lisbon, Portugal - Aula Magna
06-17 Porto, Portugal - Teatro Sa Da Bandeira
06-20 London, England - Barbican
06-22 Brighton, England - Dome
06-23 Manchester, England - Bridgewater Hall
06-25 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy
06-26 Oxford, England - Oxford New Theatre
06-28 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Concertgebouw

Random Axe - Random Calling

Just absolutely everything you could hope for from a collaboration of this nature.  Milk's tinkling neo-soul piano with his Price's and Guilty Simpson's lyrics cresting atop.

Random Axe self-title released today

Vinyl LP + Digital Download Card Available For Orders Now At Fat Beats, Ships Out Next Week

Random Axe leak Chewbacca

In the quick runup to the release of Random Axe' (Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Sean Price) self titled another track is available for your listening pleasure.  Chewbacca featuring Roc Marciano opens with a Black Milk calliope beat you swear you've heard from him before - Sean P quickly diving his head into the snowy beats.

Random Axe "Chewbacca" feat. Roc Marciano by duckdown

Random Axe debuts self-titled at NYC listening party

Billboard is reporting on a listening party held at the Dominican NY Theater & Lounge for Random Axe's (Black Milk, Sean Price, Guilty Simpson) self-titled debut.  The 15 track album including the already previewed The Hex includes cuts entitled Chewbacca, Understand This and Random Call.

While Black Milk is the sole producer on the album - it is the uncanny collaboration of Brownsville native Sean Price's and Guilty Simpson's and their jocular style of jailyard collegiality that gives the album it's deep grind.  It's deep grind floating atop Milk's slightly-less-spaced (than this past years Album Of The Year) beats lends to its deep appeal.  Getting the sessions going with Price and Simpson engaged in any manner of chicanery was apparently a constant tug of war of productivity over hilarity.   Likewise while Milk conducted the sessions and had Price rapping his deep internal and stacked rhymes over 'Jimi Hendrix shit' - Price lobbied for Milk to come to the fore vocally on more tracks as he does on The Hex.

Random Axe Random Axe is being released June 14th on Duck Down Music.

Random Axe added to Rock The Bells

Random Axe (Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Sean Price) has been added to this years Rock The Bells tour with headliners including Nas (with special guests Pete Rock, AZ & DJ Premier) Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kwali), Mobb Deep, Cypress Hill, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, the GZA, Immortal Technique, Slaughterhouse and Ms. Lauryn Hill.  Rock The Bells 11 will be hosted by The RZA, Murs 3:16 and Supernatural.



Random Axe (Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Sean Price) collab drops June 14

The long in the works super-group collaboration between uber-Hip Hop producer Black Milk and gutteral gifted street voices Guilty Simpson and Sean Price is set to drop June 14th.

The lead track The Hex is now available for viewing, purchase (through Itunes) and listening.

Random Axe "The Hex" by duckdown

Elzhi releases Elmatic mixtape produced by Will Sessions

Elzhi originally of Slum Village, one of the most slept on so-called 'conscious' rappers of the past decade, has released an homage of sorts to Nas' debut Illmatic.   The Elmatic mixtape was made free for release yesterday and the recording can be found at this link. Production is attributed to Will Sessions, a sprawling soul funk with horns ensemble hailing from Detroit, Michigan. 

Having met and formed through the jazz program at Wayne State University Will Sessions backs or has backed (in addition to original Funk Brother Dennis Coffey) Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Mayer Hawthorne, Monica Blaire, Phat Kat, & Rickey Calloway.

The most recent lineup of Will Sessions seems to be Sam Beubien (arranger/trumpet/keys), Bryan Arnold (trumpet/keys), Tim Shellabarger (drums), Tom Parks (trumpet), Matt Martinez (photos), Ryan Gimpert (bass) and Eric Kacir (guitar).  It's not clear how the group collaborates in a production environment with for instance Elzhi.  Sam Beaubien (in addition to being a member of The Country is particularly known for his superlative arrangement on Mayer Hawthorne and the Country's breakthrough album A Strange Arrangement.  Both Beaubien and Tim Shellaberger had their hands fully in the mix of Black Milk's trademark Album Of The Year showing an ease and facility collaborating in various genres.

Elzhi's Elmatic features guest spots from fellow Detroit heavyweight Royce Da 5'9, Stokly Williams (of Mint Condition) and the original producer of Illmatic Pete Rock.

The tracklist for Elzhi's Elmatic is:

1. The Genesis
2. Detroit State of Mind (Houseshoes Shout)
3. Halftime
4. Memory Lane
5. The World Is Yours
6. Represent
7. Life’s A Bitch feat. Royce da 5’9 and Stokley Williams of Mint Condition
8. One Love
9. It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Pete Rock Shout)
10. Pete Rock Shout

Dennis Coffey & Will Sessions (Scorpio Bass Solo) Live @ SXSW

Dennis Coffey backed by the Will Sessions ensemble/production team at this year's SXSW seen here performing a cut, or really a solo off a cut, from his seminal Scorpio album.

Coffey is booked in for a couple of central Canadian dates July 8 at the Horseshoe then later in the week at the mammoth Ottawa Bluesfest

The National to curate Grateful Dead compilation

In news that (NorthernHeads is reporting) that Pitchfork is reporting pulled from Spinner Canada: The National is working on a new compilation record (similar to their Dark Was The Night albums benefiting AIDS research) of Grateful Dead covers.  Solicited involvement is coming forward from New Weird American groups like Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes.  Also minimalist avant garde composer Steven Reich is involved, who is an old chum of Dead bassist Phil Lesh from his earliest days as a classical trumpet player, composer and early producer of Electronic music. Regrettably Devendorf is also quoted as saying "we're also trying to think of unusual [acts]. (Electronic-douche-scream-prats) Crystal Castles would be awesome." 


The National's bassist Scott Devendorf who is 'shadow curating the record' is quoted as saying "we're just figuring that out right now. Matt Berninger has got to sing it, so we're thinking a Phil song, 'Box of Rain' or 'Unbroken Chain,' something like that," he says. "For us, the frontrunner right now is 'Box of Rain' I think, but we'll see."  Despite being the only true musical equal to Jerry Garcia in the Grateful Dead, Lesh sings a limited number of songs in their catalogue owing to his distinct voice- of those Unbroken Chain which re-emerged in the last years of Garcia's life is a rabid fan favourite both for it's rarity and the depths it's improvisations often plumb.

NorthernHeads announce end to hiatus (again)

After a brief publishing hiatus since February 22nd, 2011 until the present (April 28, 2011) NorthernHeads is back with its mandate to highlight performance based artists, various forms of improvisational and electronic music, and the culture of sidemen.

This is NorthernHeads second hiatus having first graced the internet as a proto-blog at the url (now cybersquatted) northernheads dot com.  Archived versions of this satirical site deeply invested in Canadian and American improvisational music culture can be viewed at this link using the Wayback Machine cache made by Archive.org.  NorthernHeads original publishing run (after a period as a beta test site to domain proper) ran from May 14, 2001 to March 25, 2003.

Phish Summer Tour First Leg Announced

Phish Summer 2011 Tour from Phish on Vimeo.

What is ostensibly the entire Phish summer tour has been announced via Phish.com after a day rife with speculation and sporadic leaks from venues and promoter Live Nation. Given that confident rumours have circulated about a 'single band festival' on the site of the historic Watkins Glen diehard Canucks are still holding out hopes for the announcement of a second leg including the possibility of a Toronto or Montreal date that dovetails with the routing of the festival.

5/27/11 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY- $60.00 Reserved Seating and $45.00 GA Lawn

5/28/11 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY- $60.00 Reserved Seating and $45.00 GA Lawn

5/29/11 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY- $60.00 Reserved Seating and $45.00 GA Lawn

5/31/11 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ - $60.00 Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/1/11 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ - $60.00 Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/3/11 DTE Energy Center, Detroit, MI - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/4/11 Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/5/11 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio- $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/7/11 Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA- $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 Reserved Seating and GA Lawn

6/8/11 Darien Lake Amphitheatre, Darien, NY - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/10/11 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/11/11 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/12/11 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/14/11 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/15/11 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/17/11 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/18/11 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion, Raleigh, NC- $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn

6/19/11 Ntelos Pavilion at Harbor Center, Portsmouth, VA- $60.00 General Admission

Detroit Soul legend Dennis Coffey solo album forthcoming on Strut

Original member of the Funk Brothers and Detroit session player with innumerate plates under his belt is coming out with a self-titled album April 25th on Strut. He'll be backed for a date this Friday Feb. 25 in Detroit by Will Sessions and likewise at SXSW. Here's a teaser cover of Cee-Lo's Fuck You that evidences his trademark fuzz and wah.



There's a nice cover of The Parliaments All Your Goodies Are Gone on the Bama Love Soul website backed by Mayer Hawthorne. Coffey's new record will also feature cameos by The Dirtbombs’ Mick Collins, Rachel Nagy of The Detroit Cobrasand Milwaukee’s Kings Go Forth.

Dennis Coffey's discography includes the Black Belt Jones soundtrack and the following sessions

Ryan Leslie/ Lil' Wayne Lollipop piano solo

Here Grammy nominated record producer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Leslie performs on The Invasion Radio Show hosted by DJ Green Lantern on Sirius satellite radio. He takes a minute to find a few melody lines in Lil Wayne's ubiquitous single Lollipop from the by now seminal Tha Carter III. Some would say he's making a wretched song bearable but it's by leveraging off the melodic conceits in Weezy's drawl that he's able to improvise such a lovely piano solo on the fly.

Gene Ween wasted in Vancouver (setlist)

Word has been in Ween circles that Gene Ween (born Aaron Freeman) has been sober or working on his sobriety for the past few years.   In the summer of 2009 an uncharacteristically rotund but jolly Freeman seemed to be at very least moderating (and likely off hard drugs) in a pitch perfect solo performance at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern that delivered fan favourites, replete with hackneyed but stylish acoustic guitar solos, all culminating with a slew of encores including rarities at the electric piano like Demon Sweat.

This summer at Ween's Toronto performance at Kool Haus on July 29th (the setlist can be found on this site) he seemed at a healthy hefty weight and his voice was perfectly able to cover all of the ranges their repertoire demands from mawkish squeal, heartfelt squish, to all out wail.  With the complete lock between his partner in crime Dean Ween (Mickey Melchiondo) and bandmates Dave Dreiwitz, Claude Coleman and particularly keyboard wizard Glen McLelland, Ween delivered one of their trademark epic sets pulling out all the stops including covers of Let's Dance (Bowie) and Ohio (Neil Young).

Now word comes of their recent hopefully humourously abominable performance in Vancouver at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (January 24th) where Gener was visibly wasted (mentally and physically), missing his cues, lyrics and generally unable to perform much to the consternation of his likely highly tolerant (to a definite point) bandmates.

The Vancouver Observer reports that shortly after Bananas and Blow "he began acting a bit strange.  He sat cross-legged on the stage as he sang."  Various accounts have Gener beginning to unravel- if not from the getgo- around Bananas and Blow, in the following tune (Buckingham Green) Gene flubbed the lyrics after Dean's solo (to his apparent visible consternation).  Sitting cross-legged seemed more comfortable than standing during Mutilated Lips which followed.  Freeman was at various points unable to tune a guitar and Dean in contempt turned down his amp while Gene wasn't looking taking the mantle for a tune from his solo repertoire In My Own Bare Hands.

Things seemed to go off (or on  as it were) the rails during Reggaejunkiejew with Gener lying down flat on his back and as the band made repeat attempts to exit the extended jam, with Freeman throwing in 'Jew!' insistently (the lyrics to the song - by Freeman who is notably of Judaic descent - admittedly are little more than 'Matzafari, Reggae Junkie Jew, Fuck You') ultimately chiding him musically with an instrumental rendition of The Carpenters Superstar.  

J Dilla / Madlib: Louder (Blast Your Radio)

In the pitter patter of tracks bearing some mark of the man born as James Yancey that continue to flow since his passing, here's a Jaylib track from his Low Budget High Fi Music (the 11th entry in his Medecine Show LP series).

Jaylib - Louder (Blast Your Radio Theme) by stonesthrow