Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Phish Summer 2011 Tour Dates Announced

Today Phish announced a few of the upcoming tour dates for Summer 2011, just in time to beat my winter blues away.

Phish Summer 2011 Tour from Phish on Vimeo.

5/27/11 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY- $60.00 Reserved Seating and $45.00 GA Lawn

5/28/11 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY- $60.00 Reserved Seating and $45.00 GA Lawn 

5/29/11 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY- $60.00 Reserved Seating and $45.00 GA Lawn 

5/31/11 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ - $60.00 Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/1/11 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ - $60.00 Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/3/11 DTE Energy Center, Detroit, MI - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/4/11 Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/5/11 Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio- $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/7/11 Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA- $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 Reserved Seating and GA Lawn 

6/8/11 Darien Lake Amphitheatre, Darien, NY - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/10/11 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/11/11 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/12/11 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/14/11 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/15/11 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/17/11 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC - $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/18/11 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion, Raleigh, NC- $60.00 GA Pit and Reserved Seating $45.00 GA Lawn 

6/19/11 Ntelos Pavilion at Harbor Center, Portsmouth, VA- $60.00 General Admission.


Summer, here we come.
Elizabeth

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Peace Train

One of my all-time favorites.  I especially love this powerful performance!

Elizabeth

Sunday, February 13, 2011

A Special Soundtrack to Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!   
Elvis & co.

We here at Hippie Espionage believe that music is the ultimate medium to express powerful feelings - like love!  Here are a few of my favorites that didn't make the list last year.

Jerry Garcia's Standing on the Moon says something deeper than any Beatles song could muster; touching lyrics bring us to a place of tender devotion.  I can't get enough of the version I found on a Rex Foundation CD this summer.  The saxaphone really does something special.


If we're on the topic of Jerry songs, we can't neglect to mention Shining Star.  When I listen to the JGB versions, I feel like I get to hear a little bit of Jerry's soul... which is nice.


Maybe I didn't mean to diss the Beatles earlier.  Maybe they deserve some recognition for the dozens and dozens of love songs that didn't make the list.  (Maybe I should include one?)  Maybe I'm Amazed was written by Paul McCartney at the cusp of the Beatles' breakup in 1969.


McCartney's tune Silly Love Songs, is featured on a clever medley on the soundtrack to the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge (do we sometimes forget I'm a teenage girl?).  Not only is it performed well by the actors, but the segues are actually kind of ingenious.


Flower children Delaney & Bonnie & Friends tie things up with the cheerful and sweet tune Never Ending Love.  Joyful, joyful, we adore thee.


Whether your relationship is FBO, happily under wraps, or entirely nonexistent (it happens), Valentine's Day is about the celebration of love.  So get listening!

Have a great day (and eat lots of chocolates!)
Elizabeth

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The McLovins 29 January 2011 @Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA

Last Saturday The McLovins reined the Iron Horse with a ferocious gait.  They began with a quirky intro jam that smoothly turned into Caravan - it was fast-paced; it was funktastic.  The intensity gave way to a quick reprise and a solid ending.

Jeff led the group into Tokyo Tea, an intricate tune with serious face-melting abilities.  I've gotta hand it to these guys - they don't save the best for last.
The fairly new (and very catchy) Cohesive and Milktoast Man worked nicely as a change of pace from the intense, energetic introduction.  The Adagio, if you will.

Then came what seemed like a blast from the past: Killing Time, YEM, and Guillotine Machine were served up in a row.  Waiter, can I get salt with that?
(Getting fancy with the photo editing!)

The second set opened with a badass Beadhead Crystal Bugger.  Shouts of recognition (and, of course, approval) began with the opening licks to Deep Monster Trance, probably the most complex and interesting song in their repetoire.  Jeff never fails to weave well-known riffs into the opening ambient jam.  The party really gets going, though, with a sudden pickup of the beat.  The crowd was into it!

I thought the remarkable thing about the middle jam was the way it led us up and gracefully brought us back down.  There was an incredible amount of energy in the house - and the boys harnessed it, controlled it, and gently let it disseminate into what I dub the Starry Night Jam.  A bit jazzy, a bit lento, and a whole lotta beautiful.

First YEM and then YYZ - Phish?  Rush?  Are we on a theme tonight?  Apparently so.


Break on Through was my favorite cover of the night.  I think The Doors needed a little bit more love, and the McLovins had some to give.  And this came to pass:



But seriously, this fun, high-energy tribute is always appreciated here at Hippie Espionage Headquarters.

The jazzy Conundrum and a fun Hell Yeah left the audience shouting for one more - or two, if the band was willing to oblige.  And did they oblige.  We got a tasty Virtual Circle.  It had the crowd dancing - in circles.  Or was that just me?



Overall, the night was dark, the stars were bright, and the wind just a little too cold.  Listen to the show for yourself at Archive.org!  Here's to an even more incredible 2011.

Elizabeth