photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

"It took Patricia Mudnich and Joshua Garcia two weeks, driving their RV about 3,100 miles in a winding route from Santa Cruz, Calif., to arrive at the Rothbury music festival in West Michigan.

Cool weather and a short wait in line after the campground opened Thursday morning didn't faze them in the least. The diehard fans of The String Cheese Incident -- the popular jam band which plays its only reunion show of the summer at the second-year festival Friday -- were all smiles.

"The lineup was so impressive, we could not turn it down," said Mudnich, 41, a high school English teacher who estimated the couple spent more than $2,100 on the long trip, including festival tickets, gasoline and side trips to tourist spots such as Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore. "I used to go to these festivals all the time, but now I can only fit it into the summer."

For devoted rock fans flocking this week to the remote Double JJ Ranch from far-flung places across the United States and beyond, Rothbury has become THE summer destination.

Drawing an estimated 30,000-plus people again this year, many of the festival's devotees have logged impressive road and air miles to see their favorite bands -- from The Dead to STS9 -- with clusters of enthusiastic, colorfully adorned fans making the journey from Vermont, Florida, Texas, Nevada, Colorado and all points between in everything from compact cars and pickups to dilapidated Volkwagen vans and old school buses." [Mlive.com]

Rothbury happened July 2-5. Here are some (NSFW) pictures & videos...

Continue reading "pictures from the 2009 Rothbury Festival (NSFW)"

A lightsaber battle in Washington Square Park yesterday (NYCmiri)

The (Grateful) Dead played MSG yesterday (kgandarillas)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Tribeca Film Festival
* The Dead @ XL Center (CT)
* WBAR-B-Q @ Barnard College
* Terry Riley & Gyan Riley @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Crystal Stilts, Mahogany, Motel Motel @ Maxwell's
* Midnight Magic, Nomi (DJ), Justin Chearno @ Glasslands
* Spectrum, Psychic Ills, Cheval Sombre @ Mercury Lounge
* The Austerity Program, Wetnurse, Tournament @ Union Pool
* Crime in Stereo, Bane, Have Heart, Capital, The Agent, Backtrack @ Europa
* Alkaline Trio, Saves The Day, Death In The Park @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Valient Thorr, The Golden Error, J. Roddy & The Business, Ex-Humans @ Trash Bar
* Chain and the Gang, The Hive Dwellers, Mahjongg, Noah Britton @ Market Hotel
* Craig G, John Robinson (Scienz of Life), DJ DP1, Afrika Bambaataa & Lord Finesse @ Southpaw

"Thousands gathered under blue skies Saturday to hear the music of neo-soul artist Erykah Badu, who took the stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival burning a stick of incense and wearing a lavender kimono." [AP]

"The worst book about pop music I have ever read" [By Jeff Salamon]

Gang Gang Dance are playing the WBAR BBQ.

Chain and the Gang are at Market Hotel tonight. They played 92YTribeca the other day. Videos below...

Video of Thurston Moore / Okkyung Lee / Ikue Mori Trio performing live at Sessions at Santa's, also below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

"The pivotal scene in Dumbo (1941), for instance, is the transformation of consciousness and augmentation of capacity -- in this case, the big-eared elephant's motor skills -- via a hallucinatory delirium brought on when the dejected pachyderm drinks a barrel full of water into which, unbeknownst to him, a bottle of spirits had been accidentally spilled. To the foreboding lyrics and serpentine melody of "Pink Elephants on Parade," Dumbo begins seeing things "you know that ain't" (a succession of fractals and geometrical patterns, forms morphing into new ones, and scenes of Oriental mystery and erotica), then passes into oblivion, from which he wakes up in the highest branches of a tree. Thus Dumbo earns his wings not through an act of obeisance to the Ten Commandments but in the throes of a psychotropic-induced visionary state." [psychadelicAdventures.com]

Grand Central Station in NYC is celebrating Earth Day today (4/24) and Saturday. There's food, face painting, yoga, recycling, live music and much more. Dar Williams will be there today at 5:45. Full schedule below.

Strangely, today's Grand Central schedule also includes a "BREAK" due to "Noise Ordinance" today from 2-5pm. This is fueling rumors that The Dead, who are in town (again) to play Nassau Coliseum tonight (4/24) and MSG tomorrow (4/25) will show up for a secret show (again). It's probably not true, but if you have nothing better to do and want to head over there based on that, at least there are plenty of other eco-friendly diversions to keep you busy.

The Dead played Letterman last night. Video of that, and full Grand Central music schedule below...

Continue reading "It's Earth Day @ Grand Central - live music included + the Dead played Letterman - Nassau tonight, MSG Saturday"

words, by Andrew Frisicano, photos by Fresh Bread

[The Dead's] three performances explored the various sides of the group's persona: the Angel Orensanz Society gig stripped the group down to the trio Lesh, Weir and Haynes and focused on some of Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia's most beloved songs. Fans could both feel the group's fraternal nature and its frailties (the room was so small that when a fan screamed "we miss Jerry" Lesh shot back with "and you think we don't?").

The band's slightly larger show at the Blender Theatre showcased what happens to that chemistry when keyboards and drums are added to those skeletal song structures. In many ways, the middle gig felt the most like Weir's longtime band RatDog -- the most solidified off all The Dead's current side-projects. The 65-mintue show opened with an extended jam that segued into a continuous set of music hinged on "Playin' In The Band," "Good Lovin,'" " The Wheel," "Franklin's Tower" and the encore of "Touch of Grey." "The Wheel," in particular, symbolized the evening's theme as Weir, Lesh and Haynes sang the line "bound to cover just a little more ground" to a room of people scurrying across town to make it to all three performances.

While the night's two preceding performances were limited to a shade over an hour, the group's Roseland gig clocked in at over 100 minutes and had the feel of one of the group's trademark, exploratory second sets. Like both of The Dead's earlier performances, venue staff also let in ticketless fans as the show drew near. [Jambands.com]

As reported, the Dead played three free, ticketed shows on Monday, March 30th at three different NYC venues after starting the day by performing on The View.

The Dead tour this spring with 4 NYC-area shows, visiting Nassau Coliseum, Madison Square Garden and the IZOD Center. The tour will be their first in five years, and includes a July 4th Rothbury, MI Rothbury Music Festival

Pictures from the band's Gramercy show, with all three set lists, below...

Continue reading "The Dead played Angel Orensanz, Roseland Ballroom & Gramercy Theatre - pics & setlists"

Tickets for the [Dead] performances are not available to the general public. Tickets to all concerts will be given away free through this or other sweepstakes and other methods. Thus, the total approximate retail value (or "ARV") of all prizes to be awarded is $0.00. All Prizes are non-transferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions. All winners are responsible for their own travel and/or transportation to New York City no later than the date of the performance for which they receive tickets.- Winner must print out a copy of the E-Mail Prize Notification they receive from Sponsor confirming that they have been selected to receive a Prize.

- Winner must bring a copy of such E-Mail Prize Notification, along with a valid photo ID (such as a driver's license) to the venue box office ....on the date of the performance

- Once box office personnel verify Winner's identity and status as a Prize winner, Winner will immediately be admitted into the venue. There are no physical tickets for this Performance.

45 pairs of tickets were given out to The Angel Orensanz show (5pm), 50 pairs for Gramercy (8pm), and 405 pairs to Roseland (11pm). Did you win?

Earlier today The Dead appeared on The View. Video from that below...

Continue reading "The Dead played The View (video), 3 NYC shows today to go"

Your Chance To Win Tickets to The Dead

The Dead today confirmed they'll perform three shows on Mon., March 30 in NYC at 3 different venues: an acoustic set (Bob Weir/Phil Lesh/Warren Haynes) at Angel Orensanz (showtime 5pm), an electric full-band (incl. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Jeff Chimenti) set at The Gramercy Theatre (showtime 8pm) and the electric finale at Roseland (showtime 11pm).

Here's your chance to win tickets to one of these shows! Enter your information below and the lucky winners will be randomly selected and then notified via email. Some restrictions apply, so please click the link at the bottom of this page for the official rules.

This sweepstakes begins at 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time (12:00:00 noon Pacific Time) on Friday, March 27, 2009 and ends at 6:59:59 PM Eastern Time (3:59:59 PM Pacific Time) on Friday, March 27, 2009. Good luck!

The above message is posted on cloud.dead.net which is the site you got in the text message if you signed up, and where you need to enter (quickly).

The Dead are also playing The View on the same day, and going on tour in April.

As their first tour in five years gets set to launch April 12 in North Carolina, the DEAD have confirmed an appearance Thursday, April 23 on "Late Show with David Letterman" when the tour makes its way through New York City with a sold-out April 25 Madison Square Garden performance.

Prior to the tour, on Monday, March 30, founding group members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh-along with touring guitarist Warren Haynes-will be interviewed on "The View" and perform acoustically.

The group's founding members--guitarist Weir, bassist Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann--reunited late last year at a Barack Obama fundraiser and are touring this Spring, with guitarist Haynes and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.

In other tour news, the DEAD have confirmed a partnership with www.charityfolks.com, whereby a limited number of excellent tickets are being auctioned off with net proceeds benefiting DEAD-related charities. Beyond good seats for good causes, fans will also have the chance to bid on rare, signed memorabilia from the group's personal archives, including limited-edition show posters. To avert scalping, all auction winners will have to pick up their tickets in-person on the day of the concert.

More intesting is that rumors are spreading fast that The Dead will be playing a series of free, but ticketed secret shows in NYC this week. Someone just commented, "The Dead Play 3 free shows NYC, Monday 3-30, Arm bands available by texting dead to 50505." The Dead's official MySpace blog confirms that the 50505 thing is at least associated with them, and by the time that comment was made I had already heard that something similar might be happening. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "The Dead playing secret NYC shows?, The View, other places"

The name Rothbury confuses me. I immediately think it's a European festival, but in fact, the jam-band heavy music festival that premiered in 2008 takes place in Rothbury, Michigan. This year's lineup was just announced...

The Dead (their ONLY summer appearance!), Bob Dylan, The String Cheese Incident, Willie Nelson & Family, and The Black Crowes will top the bill of over 60 diverse and stellar artists at the second annual ROTHBURY Festival at the Double JJ Ranch in Michigan on July 2-3-4-5, 2009.

Also on the bill are Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley & Nas, STS9 (2 shows: full band/Live PA Set), G. Love & Special Sauce, Gov't Mule, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Guster, Les Claypool, Chromeo, Girl Talk, The Hold Steady, Ani DiFranco and many others.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Michigan's Rothbury Festival - 2009 artist lineup "

In the mid-1980s, the bands Phish, Ozric Tentacles, Widespread Panic, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and Aquarium Rescue Unit, began touring and playing jam band-style concerts. These groups' fame increased in the early 1990s. Bands such as Blues Traveler, and the Spin Doctors also came from the same scene, playing jam-friendly venues and festivals. In some cases, their improvisations have taken a backseat to more polished material, which may be due to their crossover commercial successes, MTV videos, and mainstream radio airplay. Most notable in pre-jam band history was the obvious influence of the Grateful Dead.

In the early 1990s, a new generation of bands was spurred on by the Grateful Dead's touring and the increased exposure of The Black Crowes, Phish, and Aquarium Rescue Unit. Many new bands were formed in the blooming scene. These were the first new bands to actually be called "jam bands", including ekoostik hookah, Dispatch, Gov't Mule, Leftover Salmon, moe., Rusted Root and String Cheese Incident. During the summer of 1995, Grateful Dead guitarist, frontman, and genre spokesman, Jerry Garcia, died, thereby ending the group's thirty years of activity. The surviving members of the Grateful Dead created a band called The Other Ones, and then officially became The Dead. During the same period, Phish rose to prominence, and bands such as String Cheese Incident and Blues Traveler became successful.

Phish's rise in popularity in the mid 1990s may be attributed to the death of Jerry Garcia and the subsequent terminus of the Grateful Dead in 1995. However, a rapidly expanding concert-going market in the early 1990s saw Phish playing mid-sized amphitheaters already in 1993 and 1994. The band also earned chances to play at various large venues, such as Madison Square Garden, by 1994's end. [Wikipedia]

Tickets for Phish's summer 2009 tour go on sale @ 10AM.

Owsley Stanley (born Augustus Owsley Stanley III, January 19, 1935) also known as The Bear, was an underground LSD chemist, the first to produce large quantities of pure LSD.

His total production is estimated at around half a kilogram of LSD, or roughly 5 million 100-microgram "trips" of normal potency, although accounts vary widely. The widespread and low-cost (often given away free) availability of Stanley's high-quality LSD in the San Francisco area in the mid-1960s may have been crucial for the emergence of the hippie movement during the Summer of Love in the Haight-Ashbury area, which one historian of that movement, Charles Perry, has described as "one big LSD party." Stanley was also an accomplished sound engineer, and the longtime soundman for seminal psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead; the band's well-known "dancing bear" icon derives from his nickname. [Wikipedia]

The Dead are playing some shows in April and May. That includes Nassau Coliseum and Madison Square Garden. Tickets go on sale at 10AM.

Continue reading "The (Grateful) Dead tickets "

A presale begins today/Tuesday at noon for tickets to the upcoming Dead shows including April 25th at Madison Square Garden. As previously mentioned,

Original Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will be joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes, both of whom played with the band at the "Change Rocks" concert. The group first formed with lead guitarist Jerry Garcia as the Grateful Dead in 1965 and are legendary for their live performances. The Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group always toured relentlessly, allowing their "Dead Head" fans to tape and trade their exploratory, free-flowing concerts.

In other bands-you-might-go-on-tour-with news, Phish is also playing a bunch of shows in 2009.

Jerry Garcia RIP. Official Dead news below...

Continue reading "The Dead return - 2009 Tour Dates"