Here’s some good stuff to get you through the work day today…
The Washington Post profiles the upcoming year in live music and it’s not looking good from the industry perspective.
And odd concepts such as The New Cars “reunion” tour with Todd Rundgren filling in for an unwilling Ric Ocasek also do not help the perception — fair or not — that the rock business still lazily defaults to short-term fixes via aging acts, rather than investing in less lucrative, emerging talent.
Umphrey’s McGee gets a great mention on MTV.com.
I just figured out what my first submission to the Contrast Podcast will be. Easily the best three minute song I’ve ever heard, so here’s to hoping that it gets included. The masses would love this track…
Although most might have known this already, Built to Spill is now on Lollapalooza’s lineup. It’s on their website and such–I just forgot to update the lineup page until now.
The latest round of Mimi Fishman Foundation Auction items includes many signed drums and other equipment from Jon Fishman. Check it out.
The Kalamazoo Gazette goes to a Keller Williams show and gets slightly bored.
Make no mistake, it was amazing to watch him skillfully play a dozen different instruments all at once and still sing, but the show felt formulaic. After a folk blues or acoustic song, he’d begin with the looping, and then repeat. Then maybe a cover — The Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive” was a crowd favorite — and another set of loops. Which time did he make his guitar sound like Peter Frampton’s voice box? Was it the 10th or 11th time he launched into his one-man quintet that he played an amazing slap-bass solo?
Bruce Springsteen and his Seeger Sessions Band are touring Europe in May.