Words by Pete DeStefano / Photos by Dorothy Paige
The night of May 11th found a near capacity crowd at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT for jamtronica super-group Electron. Comprised of Marc Brownstein and Aaron Magner of The Disco Biscuits & Conspirator, Tom Hamilton of Brothers Past, and new addition Mike Greenfield of Lotus, Electron is, well, jaw-droppingly freaking incredible.
Of course Toad’s Place is always a party and the 11th was no different. However the infamous courtyard space behind the club was uncharacteristically empty save a few fools taking public tequila shots, properly I might add, with lime and salt. What’s that really mean? Next to no one was willing to miss a even minute of the show. Read more…
The word “gifted” does not even begin to scratch the surface of how well Colin Stetson can play the bass saxophone. He has mastered the art of circular breathing allowing him to consistently exhale and defy the very mechanics of the human respiratory system. He is currently touring with violinist Sarah Neufeld and they recently played a very small, very intimate set where even they were shocked how small the 155 person auditorium was. Read more…
Prince took the stage at the Billboard Music Awards earlier this week and accepted the Billboard Icon award from Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu, which quickly turned into Prince slaying the crowd with his new version of “Let’s Go Crazy.” The video is awesome, must-see stuff if you didn’t catch any of his small-club tour that just ended in Anaheim earlier this month. In case you missed it, our crew caught this show in Las Vegas at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and we saw a very similar version of the two-song diddy that Prince showed off to the crowd. You really can’t be a “Frankenstein” tease no matter where’s it’s placed. Read more…
PHOTOS / RECAP: Devendra Banhart @ Regency Ballroom, SF 5/21/13
What happens when every guy at your coffee shop starts rocking long hair and a beard? If you're Devendra Banhart, you ditch the hippie costume, start playing around with a synthesizer, and release a new album. Earlier this year the Texas born, Venezuela raised musician released his eighth solo album,... more
TOUR DATES: Ty Segall Announces Summer 2013 Dates
The tireless and must-see Ty Segall will release his sixth solo album titled Sleeper August 20th on Drag City via vinyl, CD, MP3 and cassette. The announcement video for Sleeper features a montage of Segall sleeping in various places wearing a t-shirt with the words “couch potato” on the front.... more
DAFT PUNK WATCH: RS Cover Story, Remixes Announced, Hear “Horizon” Bonus Track
We had to take a break for a day or two from the Daft Punk fever pitch that has invaded LMB HQ but there was some news yesterday that we can't pass on covering. Rolling Stone ran an awesome cover story, remixes were announced for Random Access Memories, and... more
CONCERT RECAP: The Black Angels & Hanni El Khatib @ The Mayan LA 5/21/13
Over the past couple of weeks, Austin, TX modern psych phenoms The Black Angels and Hanni El Khatib paired up for a May tour that wrapped up in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The venue of choice was the exotic confines of The Mayan, a revival-style theater of the... more
Interlocken Fest Confirms Multiple Nights of Widespread Panic, Furthur, SCI and The Black Crowes
Interlocken has revealed more alluring details about its inaugural festival set to take place September 5 - 8 at Oak Ridge Farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge in Central Virginia, 35 miles south of Charlottesville. This is shaping up to be one of the most well-curated, jam-centric festivals... more
JamBase Live at The Gorge Has Been Cancelled
Unfortunate news from the folks over at JamBase. They just posted an update informing fans that their inaugural festival at The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington for July 5-6 has been cancelled. No reason for the cancellation was given but we can only assume that low ticket sales and... more
SETLIST / RECAP / VIDEO: Rolling Stones @ Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA 5/20/13
Cross another one off the bucket list! Last night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, The Rolling Stones finished up the "West Coast" portion of their "50 And Counting" Tour with a rocking two and a half hour affair. In an interesting curve, especially in the star-saturated... more
CONCERT RECAP: Moon Taxi @ Tipitina’s Uptown, New Orleans, LA 5/16/13
Let me be the first to say, I am by no means a jam band connoisseur or even a casual fan at best. Bands like Umphrey's McGee, Widespread Panic, Phish, or even the Grateful Dead aren’t remotely part of my personal musical lexicon. To give you the extent... more
PHOTOS / RECAP: Soundgarden @ The Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT 5/17/13
What a show! Pure Rock & Roll played to its finest and sung by Chris Cornell, a man with the voice of a God and a vocal range like no other. I've had the pleasure of catching a solo acoustic Chris Cornell show a couple of years back but that... more
R.I.P. Ray Manzarek, The Doors (1939-2013)
Ray Manzarek, Founding Member of The Doors, Passes Away at 74 Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, passed away today at 12:31PM PT at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74. At the time of his passing, he... more
Coachella 2014: Dates Confirmed, Presales Soon
If you want to get a jump on making 2014 "the year" you find your inner hipster, sign up for more info for this week's Coachella 2014 pre-sale. The 2014 dates are confirmed for April 11-13 and April 18-20 and tickets for this festival now sell-out before anyone has... more
First City Festival: Passion Pit, Modest Mouse, MGMT, Beach House and more
The crew at Goldenvoice is busy today with the first announcement of a new festival set for Monterey, CA over the August 24-25 weekend. First City Festival is a new addition to the stacked summer around here in the Bay Area, with Modest Mouse, Passion Pit, MGMT, Neko Case,... more
WATCH: Kanye West on Saturday Night Live
Kanye West brought two new tracks to last night's Saturday Night Live which also featured emotional send-offs for both Fred Armisen and Bill Hader, but these Kanye tracks are absolutely slamming and deserve to stand on their own. He's already announced that his next album Yeezus will be out... more
SETLIST / VIDEO: Rolling Stones (w/ Dave Grohl) @ Honda Center, Anaheim, CA 5/18/13
Last night in Anaheim, The Rolling Stones continued their "50 and Counting" Tour by welcoming the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl for a performance of "Bitch" off their 1971 album, Sticky Fingers. The Stones also played "Shattered" and "You Got the Silver" for the first time in 2013. Check... more
My Morning Jacket Will Begin Work On New LP This Fall
With the recent success of Jim James' solo debut LP Regions of Light and Sound of God and its (ongoing) accompanying tour (playing Hangout Fest today), it has been a little bit easier to forget that My Morning Jacket has only played one show in 2013 (although an extensive run... more
PHOTOS: Kurt Vile & the Violators @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC 5/16/13
Our bromance for all things Kurt Vile continues with this photo set from his show last night at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC courtesy of our friend Kenny Sun. --Editor
Interlocken Festival 2013: Neil Young, Furthur, SCI, Black Crowes and More
Interlocken is a brand new 4-day music festival with an emphasis on world class music, locally sourced food and sustainability and the inaugural event will take place September 5 – 8 at Oak Ridge Farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, VA. Neil Young & Crazy... more
WEBCAST: Hangout Music Fest 2013 on MTV.com
For the masses stuck in cubicles today and not partying on the beach for this year's Hangout Music Fest down in Gulf Shores, AL, MTV has you covered on all the action coming in from the festival. Yes, you read that right -- MTV seems to be actually running... more
NEW MUSIC: Queens of the Stone Age Debut “If I Had A Tail”
Queens of the Stone Age continued their daily release of new tunes from their upcoming record Like Clockwork (out June 4th) on their YouTube channel, releasing "If I Had A Tail" today. This format of debuting new material one-by-one (w/ video) is certainly an interesting tactic for sustained buzz maintenance... more
CONCERT RECAP: Toad The Wet Sprocket @ House of Blues NOLA 5/13/13
It’s hard to believe that Toad the Wet Sprocket have been in existence in some form since 1986, even harder to believe they haven’t put out any new material since Coil in 1997. Luckily for fans, that’s about to change. Glen and the gang are currently testing out new... more
Ty Segall Announces New Solo Album ‘Sleeper’
Get your cassette player ready -- Ty Segall will release his sixth solo album titled Sleeper August 20th on Drag City via vinyl, CD, MP3 and cassette. The announcement video for Sleeper features a curious montage of Segall sleeping in various places wearing a t-shirt with the words "couch potato"... more
Passion Pit and DJ Jazzy Jeff Included In Bonnaroo 2013 Silent Disco Lineup
While Silent Discos have been a part of the European club scene for some time now, Bonnaroo was one of the first events to bring the experience stateside a few years ago when they added the Silent Disco experience for the first time several years ago. Now a Roo tradition,... more
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) Head Out on US Tour, New Video for “One Girl/One Boy”
!!! have just released their fifth full length album THR!!!ER and are hitting the road starting tomorrow for a month long US tour. Guest vocalist Sonia Moore (of “2 Legit 2 Quit” fame) will not be joining, so the band is going to choose one fan per city to come... more
NEW MUSIC: Queens of the Stone Age Release “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” and “Kalopsia”
Queens of the Stone Age continue slowly releasing new tunes from their new record Like Clockwork (out June 4th) on their YouTube channel and you can watch today's animated video for "Keep Your Eyes Peeled" and yesterday's "Kalopsia" below. The band is set to make their stateside return at Lollapalooza... more
WATCH: The Stepkids Jazzy Cover of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”
To follow their re-working of Justin Timberlake's "Suit and Tie" from last week, The Stepkids released yet another lounge-ready jazz cover of a current chartbuster, this time taking on Daft Punk's (w/ Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams) monster single "Get Lucky". Check out the clip below and if still haven't... more
Rooster Walk 2013: Leftover Salmon, Dumpstaphunk, Kung Fu and More
Photo via Blue Mountain FB Page The 5th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival is set to go down once again in Martinsville, VA over Memorial Day weekend in the scenic rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The festival will take place at the Blue Mountain Festival Grounds and... more
Grizzly Bear Announces Special Show at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on 8/9
As was the case last year when Sigur Ros played Hollywood Forever Cemetery before headlining Outside Lands 2012, Grizzly Bear is now set to route through LA before hitting up the Golden Gate Park fest to headline the amazing Hollywood Forever on Friday, Aug. 9. Seeing Grizzly Bear's multi-layered sounds... more
Third Man Records Partners with Sun Records to Reissue Sun Catalog Selections
Follow @ThirdManRecords and @SunRecords on Twitter Third Man Records just announced an exciting partnership with the legendary Sun Records to reissue select 45rpm 7" singles from the deep and sterling back catalog of the Memphis-based label founded by Sam Phillips. Ya know, the place where rock and roll was born. Check... more
