Monday Morning Coffee Break

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I am pretty much finished moving and am starting to get settled. I still don't have internet in my new place, so that's a lot of the reason while I haven't been posting much of anything. I hope to have that problem remedied this week. In the meantime, I look forward to more posts as my blog is approaching it's first birthday! Grab a cup of coffee and check out some news and a video to jump start your Monday.

• Jimmy Buffett played a free show 100 miles from the Deepwater Horizon
• Them Crooked Vultures joined Pearl Jam last week in Belgium
• Los Lobos prep Tin Can Trust for August 3 release
• The Number Line: Phish Summer Tour Leg 1
• David Gilmour & Roger Waters collaborated this weekend
• Slayer + Megadeth + Anthrax = American Carnage

Foo Fighters - Big Me

Video: Pearl Jam - Amongst the Waves

Pearl Jam - Amongst the Waves

Hump Day Happenings

Last night, I checked out Them Crooked Vultures at the Aragon Ballroom. Aside from Josh Homme getting drunk throughout the show, I really enjoyed the performance. There were times during the two hour set that the energy lacked, but the band brought it most of the night. It's very clear that Dave Grohl is enjoying being out of the limelight and playing drums. It was also a pleasure to watch him own his kit! Here is some news and a video to get you over the hump day known as Wednesday.

• Bobby Womack has some very high praise for Damon Albarn
• Trey Anastasio has a new songwriting partner
• Holy Shit! Pitchfork gave the remastered Exile a perfect 10
• Elvis Costello has canceled to upcoming gigs in Israel
• Bonnaroo's Lunar Stage will host DJ's, show World Cup games
• Pearl Jam paid tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio
  
  
  
  Dawes - When My Time Comes

Hump Day Happenings

It's been a pretty quick week, but I am ready for it to be Friday. Tomorrow, I am going to see Phish 3D and I am pumped. I have heard mostly positive things and think it will be interesting to see the boys in 3D.

• Pavement kicked off their UK & Ireland tour in Dublin
• Phoenix remixes Grizzly Bear with a little help from Brian Eno
• Moby forms a metal band...... Should be interesting
• Pearl Jam launches online radio station, 2010 bootlegs for sale
• Under The Radar interviews L.A.'s Local Natives
• Roger Waters should rethink where he promotes for his upcoming tour

The Mars Volta - Cotopaxi

Monday Morning Coffee Break

Happy Opening Day! I am cautiously optimistic for my White Sox this season, but it's a long season so we will see. I had a pretty chill weekend, but I did get out and try a new beer on Friday night. The beer engine at Map Room had Thornbridge Brewery's Jaipur IPA pouring. Unfortunately, they ran out, but I enjoyed the the one glass that I had. Don't forget that they announce the Lollapalooza lineup tomorrow. Here is some news and a video to get your Monday moving.

• Bob Dylan cancels Asian tour after he is refused entry in China
• Pearl Jam donates $210,000 for 33 acres of plants & tree's
  
• Erykah Badu charged with disorderly conduct
• Stone Temple Pilots grace the cover of Billboard
• Check out these ten MGMT covers
• Radiohead drummer Phil Selway debuts new material
  
  
  
  Band of Horses - The Funeral

Thank Boosh It's Friday!

It's been a pretty hectic last couple days for me. On Wednesday, I scored all ten of the Phish shows I was hoping for this summer! Yesterday, I became a home owner for the first time! I am really excited, so it's going to be a pretty busy month for me. I celebrated by heading to Goose Island where I had a taste of the CBC IPA and tried the delectable Chicago Star IPA. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

• The Mighty Boosh to appear at London Apple store
• Decemberists in the studio with R.E.M.'s Peter Buck
• The Black Keys announce Brothers tracklist, tour dates
• The Flaming Lips, WSP, Spoon lead Forecastle Festival
• Consequence Of Sound takes a look back at Wayne's World
• Eddie Vedder joins The Who at London's Royal Albert Hall
  

Jonsi - Boy Lilikoi

Monday Morning Coffee Break

I had a really good time at the Jeff Tweedy show on Saturday night. It's always a treat to see him perform solo on an acoustic guitar. It also helps when he plays some Bob Dylan, Radiohead and of course Wilco. Don't forget to set your DVR's tonight for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Tune into Fuse TV at 8:30 pm ET for all the festivities. Here is some news and a video to get your Monday going.

• Slash joined Black Eyed Peas in Chicago on Saturday
• Check out Pearl Jam on Saturday Night Live
• MGMT apologizes for "Flash Delirium"
• Phil Lesh celebrated his 70th birthday on Friday
• Things got a little rough at a Metallica show in Colombia
• Need a new workout mix? How about a Gospel mix?

Jimi Hendrix - Like a Rolling Stone

Pearl Jam Announces Midwest & East Coast Tour

Pearl Jam announced a Midwest and East Coast tour that begins May 3 in Kansas City and ends in NYC on May 21. It looks like I will be hitting up the Deer Creek show as there is no Chicago show. Check out the dates below.

Pearl Jam Tour Dates
May 3 @ Sprint Center - Kansas City, MO
May 4 @ Scottrade Center - St. Louis, MO
May 6 @ Nationwide Arena - Columbus, OH
May 7 @ Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, IN
May 9 @ Quicken Loans Arena - Cleveland, OH
May 10 @ HSBC Arena - Buffalo, NY
May 13 @ Jiffy Lube Live - Bristow, VA
May 15 @ XS Center - Hartford, CT
May 17 @ TD Garden - Boston, MA
May 18 @ TBD
May 20 @ Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
May 21 @ Madison Square Garden - New York, NY

Hump Day Happenings

Did anyone get a chance to watch the Trey webcast on iClips? I dislocated my right shoulder last night at my soccer game. I hope it's nothing worse. Have a great Wednesday.

• Jim Pollock designed the label for Magic Hats Vinyl Lager
• Jeff Buckley songs for Romeo & Juliet Musical Adaptation
• 50 Cent to lose sixty-five pounds for movie role
• Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck in the new Rolling Stone
• Meet the dancing guy from Nirvana's Live at Reading DVD
• You can now follow Lil Wayne on Twitter

Pearl Jam - Alive(Live)

Halloween Rundown

While Phish's Festival 8 garnered most of attention this Halloween, there were plenty of other shows going on. Check out some other notable setlists below.

Pearl Jam
10-31-09
The Spectrum
Philadelphia, PA

Set 1:Why Go, Last Exit, Corduroy, Severed Hand, The Fixer, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, You Are, Amongst the Waves, Evenflow, Pilate, Unthought Known, Daughter/It’s Okay/Another Brick in the Wall, Part II@, Johnny Guitar, Rats, I’m Open, I Got Id, Glorified G, Out of My Mind, Black, Insignificance, Life Wasted

Encore 1: Just Breathe, The End, Low Light, Speed of Sound, Jeremy, Inside Job, Bugs, Spin the Black Circle, Porch

Encore 2: Whip It$, Got Some, Crown of Thorns#, Satan’s Bed, Sweet Lew, Do the Evolution, Better Man/Save It For Later%, Smile, Alive, Rockin in the Free World^, Yellow Ledbetter/The Star-Spangled Banner

Notes:
@ Pink Floyd Cover
$ Devo Cover
# Mother Love Bone Cover
% English Beat Cover
^ Neil Young Cover

Check out this video of Pearl Jam covering "Whip It" by Devo. Epic costumes!

Moe.
10-31-09
Washington Ave Armory
Albany, NY

Set I: TGORM,Godzilla@ ,Farmer Ben, You Can Call Me Al#, We Got the Party$, George, Echoes%

Set II: Stash^,meat, Eyes Of the World &>, Echoes%, Rebubula ->, Dark Star& > Rebubula

Encore: Fuck Her Gently*, Don’t Fuck With Flo, Crab Eyes, Al.nouncements

Notes:
@ Blue Oyster Cult Cover
# Paul Simon Cover
$ Miley Cyrus Cover
% Pink Floyd Cover
^ Phish Cover
& Grateful Dead Cover
* Tenacious D Cover

Source: moe-setlists@yahoo.com

Widespread Panic
10-31-09
Austin Music Hall
Austin, TX

Set I: Waitin’ For The Bus* > Chilly Water > Rock > Chilly Water, Trouble, Gimme > You Got Yours, Give, Mama Told Me Not To Come > Red Beans and Rice

Set II: Come As You Are* > Bowlegged Woman, The Last Straw, Holden Oversoul > Vampire Blues, Imitation Leather Shoes > drumz > Bust It Big > Pigeons, Lake Of Fire* > Henry Parsons Died Enc: The Masquerade*, Postcard, Flat Foot Flewzy

Notes: * First time played. Last “Mama Told Me Not To Come,” 10/26/08. Last “Red Beans and Rice,” 10/17/08. Last “Vampire Blues,” 10/29/08.

Source: EverydayCompanion.com

Umphrey’s McGee
10-31-09
Los Tortugas, Groveland, CA
Dance of the Dead IV.

Set I: JaJunk* > 2 × 2 > Q*bert > 2 × 2, Cemetery Walk, Padgett’s Profile**, Cemetery Walk (part II), Sweet Sunglasses#

Set II: Jazz Odyssey > Nothing Too Fancy > Hangover > Night Gambler## > Nothing Too Fancy, FF > Professor Wormbog^ > JaJunk, Mulche’s Odyssey, Land of Wappy^^ Enc: 40’s Theme, Nemo’s Fat Bottomed Good Times%

Notes: * With “Smooth Criminal” (Michael Jackson) and “Heartbreaker” (Led Zeppelin) teases. ** With “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” (Michael Jackson) tease. # Mash-up of “Sweet Dreams” (Eurhythmics), “Sunglasses at Night” (Corey Hart), and “Electric Feel” (MGMT). ## Mash-up of “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers), “Night Fever” (The Bee Gees), and “Rapper’s Delight” (Sugarhill Gang). ^ With Bill Kreutzman on drums. ^^ Mash-up of “Wappy Sprayberry,” “Land of Confusion” (Genesis), and “Seek and Destroy” (Metallica). % Mash-up of “Nemo,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” (Queen), and “Good Times, Bad Times” (Led Zeppelin)

Source: Umphreys.com

Gov’t Mule
10-31-09
Tower Theater
Upper Darby, PA

Set I and encore with Jackie Greene.

Set I: Under My Thumb*, Monkey Man*, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo*#, Angie*, Ventilator Blues*#, Shattered*#^, Wild Horses, Slave*#, Gimme Shelter*#, Play With Fire, Paint It Black*, Bitch*#, Brown Sugar*#

Set II: Steppin’ Lightly, Broke Down on the Brazos, Railroad Boy > Monday Mourning Meltdown > Forevermore, Frozen Fear > Brighter Days > Blind Man in the Dark#

Encore: Goin’ Out West#^^ > Bang A Gong (Get It On)# > Goin’ Out West#

Notes: * First time played. # With Steve Elson. ^ Jorgen on drums, Danny on bass, Matt on vocals. ^^ With “Peter Gunn” theme tease.

Source: Mule.net

Bob Dylan
10-31-09
Aragon Ballroom
Chicago, IL

Set I: Gonna Change My Way of Thinking, Lay Lady Lay*, Beyond Here Lies Nothin’, To Ramona, It’s All Good**, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, Cold Irons Bound, This Dream Of You*, Jesus Gonna Be Here**#, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Forgetful Heart, Highway 61 Revisited, Workingman’s Blues #2, Thunder on the Mountain, Ballad of a Thin Man

Encore: Like A Rolling Stone, Jolene, All Along the Watchtower

Notes: * Bob on guitar. ** First time played. # Stu on vocals.

Source: BobLinks.com

The Disco Biscuits
10-31-09
Auditorium Theatre
Chicago, IL

The Glitch Mob, Holy Fuck and Orchard Lounge opened.

Set I: Strobelights and Martinis, Pimp Blue Rikki, Flash Mob > Mindless Dribble > Caves of the East > Mindless Dribble > Confrontation*

Set II: Stone > The Devil’s Waltz, On Time > Confrontation* > Spraypaint > Tempest > Tricycle > Spraypaint, Spy, I Am One**

Encore: Save The Robots# > Run Like Hell##

Notes: * Dyslexic. ** First time played. # Dyslexic completion of 10/30 version. ## Completes 10/28 version.

Source: PhantasyTour.com

Thanks to jambands.com for the setlist help.

Monday Morning Coffee Break

• Ed O'Brien confirmed that Radiohead will enter the studio this winter to record their next album. He also said that the album will be released on CD!
• Seattle super group Temple of the Dog reunited at a recent pearl jam show
• Deer Tick will open some shows for Neko Case
• North by East West are asking fans what are the greatest Canadian albums of all time
• In case you missed it, Phish announced their fall tour

Lastly, even though the Giants & Jets are still taking care of business at Giants Stadium, Bruce Springsteen played the final concert there. It was the bands 24th appearance at the venue. Read the NY Times review here, and Brooklyn Vegan has a review with some cool pictures here.

News From The Analog

• The biggest music news this past week was the long awaited announcement of the Pavement reunion. The band has announced four shows at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Expect a full tour to be announced in the future
• Rolling Stone rolls out their fall music preview
• The Smashing Pumpkins announced some ambitious plans for their new album
• Paste Magazine has a really cool feature on Pearl Jam
• The Flaming Lips want you to ride your bike naked with them
• Thom Yorke released a video for his new track "All for the Best"

News From The Analog

• The Black Keys unveiled their new hip-hop project Blakroc. I am a huge Black Keys fan and this is very exciting. Mos-Def among others appear the record, which will be released on November 27. Let's hope they take this on the road [via Pitchfork]
• Jack White has donated $170,000 to help rebuild the baseball field that he played on when he was a kid [via NME]
• Some Q & A with Pearl Jam on their forthcoming release Backspacer [via Billboard]
• Live Music Blog put together a podcast of some of the best Phish jams this summer [via Live Music Blog]
• Check out Weezer's new album cover [via Gigwise]

Kanye West made an ass out of himself once again, by crashing Taylor Swift's party as she accepted her award for "Best Female Video", at the MTV Video Music Awards. West grabbed the mic and proclaimed that Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" was one of the best videos of all time. After West finished his tirade, he handed the microphone back to Swift who was visibly shaken. This just confirms to everyone that Kanye West is the biggest ASSHOLE in music! [via Jambase]

Pearl Jam 8/24/09 United Center Chicago, IL

When music is honest, it is pure and when pure it is very powerful. It was fitting that the backdrop of Pearl Jam’s set was an image of a tidal wave. For almost 3 hours Monday night, Pearl Jam was a tidal wave force of energy that left nothing in its wake.

Opening the show, ”Hard to Imagine” served as the calm before the storm. With anticipation building, “Corduroy” came next and the band just exploded along with the crowd. The songs opening line “ The waiting drove me mad” was very fitting as the band was itching to just let loose.

Throughout their set bassist Jeff Ament, and guitarists Mike McCready & Stone Gossard would often huddle up with each other and feed of off each others energy, often ending up with one of them spinning off and jumping around the stage.

Eddie Vedder is the unequivocal leader of Pearl Jam. That did not stop him from stepping aside and letting his band mates steal the show. In the only two moments of excess during the show, Vedder stepped aside as guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard took center stage.

Both “Evenflow” and “Alive” featured extended guitar solos while Vedder stood behind the stage content on just soaking it all in. Even keyboardist Boom Gaspar got in on the action. During “Crazy Mary” he took an extended keyboard solo, which has become a cornerstone of the song live. After the song finished the fans chanted Booooom in the same fashion as Boston Red Sox fans cheer for Kevin Youkilis.

As “State of Love and Trust” ended the house lights came on, but the band seemed oblivious. Instead the band dedicated “Fuckin' Up” to Dennis Rodman, who was not in attendance. “Yellow Ledbetter” followed and served as the perfect ending to the show as McCready serenaded the crowd with his rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner”.

You could tell that the band is very humbled by Chicago and it's fans. Chicago was one of only four cities to get multiple shows on their current tour. Vedder was very appreciative as he spoke of Chicago as the band has had some very memorable shows including gigs at Solider Field and The Chicago Stadium.

After twenty years it is very evident that the band are very close friends and enjoy performing together. For a band to be as successful as Pearl Jam is an ego check is a necessary, and that is exactly what they have done for their entire career. The band once again delivered a tremendous performance and added another chapter in the bands storied career. Like a good scotch, Pearl Jam just gets better with age.

Pearl Jam
August 24, 2009
United Center

Set I
Hard To Imagine
Corduroy
In My Tree
Last Exit
All Night
Nothingman
The Fixer
Evenflow
Present Tense
Whipping
Not For You (Modern Girl)
Daughter (Another Brick In The Wall)
Brother
Gone
Got Some
Do The Evolution
Alive

Encore 1
No More
Comatose
Grievance
Black
The Real Me%
Porch

Encore 2
Wasted Reprise
Better Man (Save It For Later)
Crazy Mary^
State Of Love And Trust
Fuckin Up@
Yellow Ledbetter (The Star-Spangled Banner)$

@ - Dedicated to Dennis Rodman
$ - After the song ended guitarist Mike McCready performed The Star Spangled Banner solo
% -The Who cover
^ - Victoria Williams cover

Pearl Jam: Twenty Years Later

Yes, Pearl Jam has been around for twenty years!

I was front and center for the "grunge" movement of the early to mid 90's. Bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, & Pearl Jam were leading the charge. Seattle Washington was on top of the music world.

As the 90's came to a close the music industry was changing and the "grunge" scene pretty much went by the way side. Pearl Jam managed to not only survive, but in the process built a militant fan base that continues to grow at a steady clip.

Pearl Jam has always done things different. From the packaging of Vitalogy & No Code to their live bootleg program, the band continues to march to their own beat. Heck, they even tried to take to down the Ticketmaster!

Fast forward almost twenty years and Pearl Jam continues to write their legacy. The band consistently puts out solid records, while maintaining a healthy touring schedule.They are one of the most prolific bands of my generation, and it appears they have no intention of slowing down or stopping for that matter. With no end in site, Pearl Jam will continue to be a kick ass rock n roll band!

Pearl Jam plays two shows at the United Center in Chicago on August 23 & 24. Check back for my review of the Monday night show.