Ben Harper’s new band, Relentless 7 will be playing The Mercury Lounge in NYC tonite in a very small, very intimate showcase of their new music.  Show starts at midnight, I will be there and I am really looking forward to hearing this band.  Too bad I won’t be able to make it down to Warren Haynes’ annual Xmas Jam in Asheville NC to hear them jam out as well.  They are also playing Kenny’s Castaways tomorrow night.  These three shows are the last ones they have scheduled until April 2009 (in Australia) so try to catch them now while you have the chance.

Relentless 7 is:

(All info via Wolfgang’s Vault)

By 1974, in large part due to Dickey Betts, Capricorn Records and The Allman Brothers Band were experiencing a success more lucrative than anyone could have dreamed. Betts, as a result, found himself free to pursue almost anything he desired musically, without having to worry about finances in the least. The situation allowed him to record his first solo album, Highway Call, and to perform with countless great musicians for the pure joy of playing, without any expectations of making money in the process. Over the course of the previous year, Betts had found a true, authentic voice, and had begun to distinguish himself within the ABB as a unique stylist, blending his love for country, bluegrass, western swing, jazz and rock into a style utterly his own – and one that would soon prove highly influential on all the Southern Rock bands that followed in the Allman Brothers’ wake.

Betts’ Great American Music Show featured many of the players from his solo album, including the greatest fiddle player of his generation, Vassar Clements. Both the Poindexters and the legendary Spooner Oldham were also on board, and all these musicians combined to create a show that authentically traced the history of American music.

Betts begins this Winterland show by showcasing his more acoustic side, with plenty of tight harmonies, sweet picking and relaxed communication between the musicians. Several of the best new songs from Betts’ solo effort are included, including “Rain,” “Long Time Gone” and the superb “Hand Picked.” The classic instrumental “Hideaway,” as well as Allman Brothers’ favorites “Blue Sky” and “Southbound,” are given this new treatment with great success.

Betts, Clements and the Poindexters then venture into historic American music and straight bluegrass for half a dozen songs, beginning with vintage material like “Old Joe Clark” and “Salty Dog,” and closing with Vassar Clements raising the roof on “Orange Blossom Special.”

The set’s closer, for which the ensemble goes electric, is perhaps its most interesting and exciting moment. This 40 minute version of “Elizabeth Reed” has to be one of the most expansive versions ever played, and is almost beyond description. Everyone in the ensemble gets several chances to shine on this unbelievable jam. All the elements that influence Betts’ music are represented, from jazz to rock to bluegrass and back. This version literally has it all, and stays amazingly cohesive and inspired throughout. The audience demands more, and the band returns for an encore consisting of the obligatory “Ramblin Man” followed by another of Betts’ most requested numbers, “Jessica.” This lovely instrumental showcases the inventive playing of this large ensemble, and ventures into new areas only hinted at in versions with the Allman Brothers.

This is one of the finest examples recorded of musicians playing for the sheer joy of music, with no egos or financial concerns getting in the way. Touring this type of show was destined to be a monstrous undertaking – and ultimately a financial disaster – but thankfully, for a brief time in 1974, none of that seemed to matter.

Click here to listen to this amazing show!!!

Tracklist

01. Introduction / Rain  4:58
02. Blue Sky 11:05
03. Hide Away 9:11
04. Hand Picked 13:54
05. Long Time Gone 5:32
06. Southbound 9:06
07. Old Joe Clark 1:47
08. Salty Dog Blues 3:13
09. Carolina 2:24
10. Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms 3:29
11. Hard Time Blues 4:05
12. Orange Blossom Special 3:08
13. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed 41:19
14. Ramblin’ Man 7:59
15. Jessica 12:16

Band

Dickey Betts – guitar, dobro, vocals
Jeff Hanna – guitar
Spooner Oldham – organ
Vassar Clements – violin
John Hughey – pedal steel guitar
Oscar Underwood Adams – mandolin
Stray Straton – bass, vocals
Bonnie Bramlett – vocals, percussion
Jerry Jumonville – alto sax
David Walshaw – drums, percussion
Jerry Thompson – drums
Leon Poindexter – acoustic guitar
Walter Poindexter – banjo
Frank Poindexter – dobro

Last year, our beloved Beacon run was postponed due to your health issues.  This upcoming year’s Beacon shows will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Allman Brothers Band.  Through it all you somehow always manage to persevere and come out stronger in the end.  I hope that 2008 doesn’t spell the retirement of the Allman Brothers Band, you guys are hitting on all cylinders with Warren & Derek as one of the most talented and powerful guitar duos in rock history on the same stage night after night.

Thanks for all of the great years of live shows, vinyl, 8 tracks, cassettes and cd’s that are in my collection.  Please keep the music coming for years to come!

Gregg Allman – Come And Go Blues (Solo Acoustic)

Gregg Allman, Dave Matthews & Warren Haynes – Melissa (Farm Aid 9.9.07)

Gregg Allman – Trouble No More (Charlie Musslewhite on Harmonica)

The Allman Brothers Band – You Don’t Love (Live on David Letterman)

Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman) turns 76 today

Little Richard & The Beatles

Little Richard – Tutti Frutti

Little Richard – Long Tall Sally

Jim Messina (Loggins & Messina) turns 61

Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina

Loggins & Messina – House At Pooh Corner (Old Grey Whistle Test 1972)

Loggins & Messina – Danny’s Song (Midnight Special 1973)

On September 25th, 1980, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham passed away at the way too young age of 32 when he accidentally asphyxiated in his sleep after a prolonged drinking session during rehearsals which ended at Jimmy Page’s Old Mill House, Windsor property. (via Billboard, October 4, 1980)

Widely acclaimed as the greatest rock drummer ever, Bonham’s unique sound would have been difficult to replace and the remaining members, having met at London’s Savoy Hotel to discuss future plans, eventually announced the band’s dissolution and the cancellation of a US tour, on December 4, 1980.

Official Swan Song press release:

“We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were.”

Jimmy Page – Stairway to Heaven (Instrumental) December 8th 1983
Ronnie Lane A.R.M.S. Benefit Madison Square Garden NYC
With Eric Clapton & Jeff Beck

Via Sole Blvd Blog

This February, Vans will continue the Bad Brains collaboration that it originally put together with the help of Supreme last spring. The updated line will go into broader release, with a series of T shirts and three footwear models: a ‘46 LE, a Sk-8 Hi LE, and a Chukka Boot LX.

Bad Brains, if you don’t know, isn’t new. They came up in the Washington D.C. hardcore scene, and made spots like NYC’s CBGBs famous. Meet any lost child of the 80s or 90s and they’ll tell you that Bad Brains saved their life. If you don’t want to ask, or don’t want to sit through an hour of muddled explanations, check out the Wikipedia. Or, if you know, and you’re down, petitition Obama to have them play his inauguration here.

Full Story on Yahoo News

SAN FRANCISCO – Blockbuster Inc. will begin selling concert tickets at about 500 of its video rental stores, bolstering its effort to create a one-stop shop for entertainment.

Under a three-year agreement announced Tuesday, Blockbuster’s stores next month will become the primary brick-and-mortar sales outlet for music concerts staged by promoter Live Nation Inc. in the United States.

Dallas-based Blockbuster will supplant a hodgepodge of department stores, supermarkets and other retailers that Live Nation had been relying upon as part of an unraveling partnership with Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc.

Beverly Hills-based Live Nation is breaking away from Ticketmaster to build its own ticketing channel. Ticketmaster will continue to handle some of Live Nation’s sales until contracts covering several concert venues expire.

With most consumers buying their tickets online, Blockbuster is expected to account for less than 10 percent of the more than 10 million tickets that Live Nation anticipates selling in the United States next year.

Still, the Live Nation relationship will provide Blockbuster with a new way to lure people into its stores as more consumers rent movies through DVD-by-mail vendors like Netflix Inc. or buy entertainment through Internet downloading services and “on-demand” features bundled into cable-television subscriptions.

(All text via Wolfgang’s Vault)

Evolving from Pete Townshend’s idea for a musical autobiography of The Who, the second of the group’s two full-scale rock operas, Quadrophenia, eventually developed into a social, musical and psychological exploration of the mid-1960s mod scene in England. Written from the perspective of a British teenager, Jimmy, the band member’s role in the storyline became symbolic via Jimmy’s four personalities. Like much of Townshend’s work, Quadrophenia examined the universal themes of rejection, rebellion, and the search for identity. Released in October of 1973, the resulting double album, Townshend’s last magnum opus within the context of The Who was greeted with acclaim and featured some of the most majestic music the band ever recorded.

Upon Quadrophenia’s release, The Who took to the road in support of the album. Touring the U.K. and then North America, this tour turned out to be one of the most legendary and monumentally frustrating of their entire career. The technical requirements of performing Quadrophenia were extremely demanding and performances were often plagued by malfunctioning equipment. Because sound effects and backing tapes were incorporated into the performance, they were constrained to playing along, reducing the spontaneity that had always been a key ingredient to their live sound. Technical issues aside, The Who also faced challenges putting the concept, story and characters across to North American audiences. Unfamiliar with the Mod scene that was so central to the concept, Daltrey and Townshend’s lengthy explanations of the plot between songs diverted the flow and intensity of the band’s performances. Despite these challenges, this tour featured many moments of brilliance and experienced sell-out crowds all along the way.

The North American leg of this tour got off to an inauspicious start when on opening night in San Francisco, Keith Moon collapsed on stage several times and was replaced on drums by a volunteer from the audience. As the tour progressed and Townshend began paring down the Quadrophenia material to its essential elements, the performances improved. Toward the end of this tour, they were more consistently engaging and on a good night, The Who remained the most powerful and captivating band on the planet.

Which brings us to the second-to-last night of this tour, when the band took to the stage of the Spectrum in Philadelphia before a sold-out house. Excerpts of this show, recorded for broadcast by the King Biscuit Flower Hour, have been the primary source of high quality recordings from this tour. The KBFH recordings from this night and the final tour stop in Largo, Maryland, have also been the source of collector confusion and the subject of debate for nearly 35 years. Ubiquitously bootlegged ever since the initial broadcasts in 1974, only those excerpts of this night’s recordings have ever circulated. Here for the first time ever is the vast majority of The Spectrum performance, from the original King Biscuit masters and sounding sonically superior to all other versions of this material in existence. Not only does this include all but one of the songs from this legendary night, but the final reel included the entirety of the encore, previously unknown to have been recorded.

The performance kicks off in fine form with a double dose of primal Who, first with the opener “I Can’t Explain” followed by a ferocious “Summertime Blues” to warm things up. Next up is an expanded version of John Entwhistle’s “My Wife,” before they cap off this initial segment of the performance with their signature song, “My Generation.” Both feature impressive instrumental exchanges between Townshend, Entwhistle and Moon, with the latter taken at a furious tempo and pummeling in its delivery.

Next, Townshend addresses the audience directly and prefaces the performance of Quadrophenia by way of explaining, “The better part of an album what we wrote about ourselves being Mods. When we were little. The story about the Mod kid and we call it Quadrophenia. Being Mod meant a lot more in England, I think, than it ever did in America. I think you think of it being a Carnaby Street thing. It’s not just a looking back, it’s a kind of bringing up to date. Quadrophenia’s about where we all are today, maybe you, too. The story is set on a rock in the middle of a stormy sea. In quadrophonic, as well!” With that said, the backing track of “I Am The Sea” leads into the full blown performance of “Quadrophenia.” Townshend jumps in a bit early, but “The Real Me” and “The Punk And The Godfather” both cook with a fiery intensity. Daltrey’s vocals are full of raw passion and the rhythm section of Entwhistle and Moon is explosive. Townshend delivers another explanation prior to “I’m One” revealing some of his own childhood perceptions. This song, much like his classic “Behind Blue Eyes,” begins as a solo vehicle for Townshend’s voice and guitar alone, before the entire group kicks in to dramatic effect. The remainder of the “Quadrophenia” material here features plenty of great ensemble playing and those familiar with the KBFH broadcasts will welcome the appearance of the never-before-heard “5:15,” the riff-heavy “Sea And Sand” and a 10- minute “Drowned” that includes some inspired jamming.

Despite the technical limitations of the equipment, which are more prominent during the latter parts of “Quadrophenia,” this portion of the recording concludes with a humorous “Bell Boy,” featuring Keith Moon altering his lyrics to recall the hotel room destroyed in Montreal earlier that week, followed by an engaging performance of “Dr. Jimmy.” Unfortunately the sole missing item is the grand finale of “Love, Reign O’er Me,” but otherwise these are the finest 1973 era “Quadrophenia” performances anyone is likely to have ever heard.

Following the “Quadrophenia” presentation, they launch into a powerful “Won’t Get Fooled Again, before wrapping up with two classic tracks from Townshend’s earlier magnum opus, Tommy. First they deliver a frenetic rendition of “Pinball Wizard,” here humorously introduced as “Pineball Blizzard!,” followed by a majestic set closing finale of “See Me, Feel Me,” that leaves the ecstatic audience clamoring for more. For nearly eight solid minutes this audience roars it’s approval . Unison chants of “WE WANT The Who!” are heard over and over again. When the band returns to the stage amidst thunderous applause, they cut loose into a smoldering version of “Naked Eye” with Daltrey leading the way. For a solid 13 minutes, this encore burns with intensity, culminating in the destruction of Townshend’s cherry sunburst Les Paul Deluxe.

Tracklist

01. Introduction  0:58
02. I Can’t Explain 2:27
03. Summertime Blues 3:45
04. My Wife 7:24
05. My Generation 7:09
06. Quadrophenia Introduction 1:14
07. I Am The Sea 1:51
08. The Real Me 5:50
09. The Punk And The Godfather 4:58
10. I’m One 3:55
11. 5:15 6:25
12. Sea And Sand 7:34
13. Drowned 10:07
14. Bell Boy 4:56
15. Doctor Jimmy 9:03
16. Won’t Get Fooled Again 8:53
17. Pinball Wizard 2:56
18. See Me, Feel Me 5:37
19. Encore / Crowd 8:31
20. Naked Eye 13:35

Click here to listen to the entire show

The Who
Pete Townshend – vocals, guitar
Roger Daltrey – vocals, harmonica
John Entwistle – vocals, bass
Keith Moon – vocals, drums

And so begins the holiday season….

(Happy Xmas Kyoko
Happy Xmas Julian)

So this is Xmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Xmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Xmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let’s stop all the fight

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Xmas
And what have we done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so happy Xmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear
War is over, if you want it
War is over now

Happy Xmas

On November 26, 1968, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker took the stage for the final time as Cream at London’s Royal Albert Hall.  It is amazing to think that Cream only recorded and played together for 24 months (2 years).

The setlist for that day’s show was:

01. Sunshine Of Your Love
02. White Room
03. Crossroads
04. Politician
05. Stepping Out
06. Sitting On Top Of The World
07. Toad
08. I’m So Glad

1. Sunshine of Your Love

2. White Room

3. Crossroads

4. Politician

05. Stepping Out