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In addition to the new posts last week, we’ve got some new posts this week from a writer you might be newly familiar with. WHITperson, the man behind the curtain over at Live Music Musings, brings us his first post for the site with a major roundup of some New Year’s Eve concert highlights from around the nation. Welcome him with open arms, ya dig…
I admit that NYE is on of the more overrated party nights of the year, often built up into something so big that the results don’t quite live up to the hype.
But a lot of live bands try hard to make sure to provide that extra spark for their NYE show (or, in many cases, their NYE run of shows). Some bands bust out a nifty cover or set of cover tunes, others dust off old-school material, while others offer up a fresh take on the countdown to the New Year. Sure, a lot of these tricks and treats can fall short of expectations. But when they work, you can feel the crowd’s excitement build into frenzy.
Since the 1st day of the year, the tapes have been filtering in and we’ve since been perusing the LMA and bittorrent sites for some gems we may have missed. So, here’s an LMB run-down of what went down:
Disco Biscuits @ the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ
This was a great segment from tDB 2.0. Because of its seamless tracking, I’ve decided to include the entire segment. It includes crowd-pleasing covers of the Beastie Boys’ “Paul Revere” and the rockin segment of the Who’s “See Me Feel Me,” and also includes the band’s 2006 take on the NYE countdown (if you’re unfamiliar to tDB’s NYE countdowns, they’ll usually alter a tune by inserting the actual NYE countdown into the song’s structure). While the covers and countdown are fun, it’s the electronic dance madness following the countdown that is just a prime example of the high level of energy these guys continue to bring to the stage.
– Paul Revere (Beastie Boys cover)
– Bazaar Escape > (w/ NYE countdown alteration)
– See Me Feel Me > (the Who cover)
– Helicopters > (w/ “happy new year” lyrics and helicopters sound effects)
– Bazaar Escape >
– Munchkin Invasion >
– Basis For A Day >
– Bazaar Escape >
– Basis For A Day
*For all the other intricate deets on song ‘inversions’ and so forth, try the LMA link above
Buy the Soundboards
(for better sound quality)
~~~
My Morning Jacket @ the Fillmore in San Francisco
After 2005’s “Z” continued to rock the airwaves this past year, MMJ had a BIG 2006, especially one the road. These guys had huge shows at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and even played with Boston Pops (and a few other orchestras, I might add).
They did a three-night run at the Fillmore, and pulled off some really fun NYE shenanigans with this 80s-music extravaganza:
– Countdown with Mayor of San Francisco
– Celebration (Kool & the Gang cover)
– All Night Long (Lionel Ritchie cover)
– Careless Whisper (Wham cover)
Download it
~~~
Perpetual Groove @ the Music Farm in Charleston, SC
I don’t know Perpetual Groove’s music all that well, but I continue hear people sing their praises (especially among the jam-kids). P Groove hit The Music Farm for NYE and busted out a groovy take on the theme from the Life Aquatic, including a bunch of teases of Wilco’s “Spiders.” For a bonus, check out their rockin’ “Bulls on Parade” encore.
– Glock Jam > (theme from “Life Aquatic”, w/ teases of Wilco’s “Spiders”)
– 2007 Countdown/Auld Lang Syne >
– Save for One
2nd Encore:
– Bulls on Parade (Rage Against the Machine cover)
Stream it
~~~
Tea Leaf Green @ the TLA in Philly
Is it me or have these guys had an ENORMOUS 2006?!?! I’ve seen and heard of TLG (http://www.tealeafgreen.com/) all over the place this year, and for good reason, they friggin rock! TLG paired up with the Brakes on few tunes for NYE, including an R.I.P. nod to the late James brown, and a rippin AC/DC cover. And their own “Franz Hanzerbeak” is great original to cap off this NYE segment:
– (New Years Countdown) >
– Get Up* (RIP James Brown – cover)
– Have a Drink On Me** (AC/DC cover)
– Franz Hanzerbeak
~~~
Derek Trucks Band @ the Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO
Although I’d prefer to hear the full variety of a Derek Trucks Band concert, Derek’s slide guitar is super impressive even when he plays straight-up blues and rock. This New Year’s Eve,Derek added his wife Susan Tedeschi on vocals and they tore through some blues, rock, and funk covers, including “Key to the Highway’ (Derek and the Dominoes), Sly Stone’s “I Want To Take You Higher,” and Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round In Circles.”
– Are You Ready? > New Year’s countdown by Kirk West > balloon drop >
~~~
Rose Hill Drive @ the Boulder Theatre
This is another band whose music I don’t know too well. But two things caught my attention about this show: 1) it was at the Boulder Theatre and 2) they covered a bunch of my favorite Hendrix tunes from his “Band of Gypsies” days. Not knowing much about Rose Hill Drive, I was surprised they had such the following that they could pull off a NYE show at a pretty sweet spot in a Colorado town with such an active concert market. I checked it out and really dug the “Band of Gypsies” covers (which their guitarist pretty much nailed, in my opinion).
– Changes
– Power of Soul (which was mislabeled as “Power of Love”)
~~~
And then there was:
Umphrey’s McGee @ the Aragon, Chicago, IL
Man, to say Umphrey’s McGee had a big 2006 would be an understatement. Like MMJ, UM hit all kinds of big festivals (including a hometown performance at Lollapalooza), and capped the year off with a 3-night sell-out of the Aragon here in Chicago. Their three-night run included some pretty solid big-name openers like Taj Mahal, Los Lobos and the North Mississippi All Stars, as well as a nice long segment with a horn section.
There are all sorts of debates over which night or set was the best of the run, but their NYE countdown set did not disappoint. It included a few of my favorite UM songs, nicely rounded out with a “She Caught the Katy” cover that included Taj Mahal on vocals, and a silly take on Justin Timberlake’s recent SNL performance.
– Bridgeless* >
– (banter)
– 2×2 >
– (banter)
– Mail Package*
*w/ horns (for all the other setlist footnotes and intricacies, go to the archive link above)
Stream it
Buy the Soundboards
(for better sound quality)
bonus cut:
And I can’t mention UM on NYE without this. As Justin has already pointed out, UM also performed a groovy little take on that now-infamous “Dick in a box” segment from Justin Timberlake’s recent hosting of SNL. Something about these guys singing this song makes me slightly uncomfortable, but I’ll give it to them for busting it out (pun intended), and making it all the better by adding the full horn section.
Good times:
For previous NYE coverage, including links to downloads and torrents, try here and here.
