The Langerado Music Festival is upping its game. While it has been a significant festival the last several years, this year's line up seems more diverse and an attempt to push Langerado into the upper festival echelon. Modest Mouse is the latest addition to the annual Florida gathering joining Snoop Dogg, Death Cab for Cutie, Ryan Adams and The Cardinals as some of the marquee names.

The rest of the line-up isn't too shabby either. Highlights include Broken Social Scene (great with or without Feist), Cold War Kids, Flogging Molly, Mute Math, Gym Class Heroes, The Pogues and Matisyahu. The Zach Brown band will also bring their anthem "Chicken Fried" to represent the country set while rubbing shoulders alongside festival mainstays like Umprey's McGee, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Michael Franti and Steel Pulse.

Besides some new names, there is also a new location. This year Langerado moves to Bicentennial Park in Miami on March 6, 7 and 8th. Tickets are on sale now.

Labels: Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Death Cab, Festival News, Gym Class Heroes, Modest Mouse, Robert Randolph, Ryan Adams, Slightly Stoopid, Umphrey's McGee

Eddie Vedder and Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline the third annual Hullabaloo Benefit for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which RHCP Flea co-founded in 2001, to raises funds for the SCM and for providing scholarships to low-income students. Tickets will go on sale Saturday, April 21st and will be available only over the web.

DC is getting ready for its annual Six Points Music Festival. Lots of good stuff on tap for that, including a show on Friday April 20th at the Velvet Lounge featuring Justin Jones, Wes Tucker and the Skillets, The Junior League and Sean McArdle.

I caught a good set from the Astral Lounge last night at the Troc in Philly. I'm really liking their song "Country Deceiver" - and our very own Earvolution alum Jim McCoy is on guitar. Mountain Man was also on the bill. Any time you've got some jazz trumpet backing up a few string pickers you've got an interesting combination. Definitely going to check out both acts again soon.

Mp3 Offerings:
The Walkmen: Lost in Boston
Shitdisco: OK
Joseph Arthur: Diamond Ring
The Muggabears: Goth Tarts
Land of Talk: Speak to Me Bones

Justin at Live Music Blog notes that Umphrey's McGee has added a slew of tour dates to their schedule. He also points to a podcast the band put together that gives some insight into their new record The Bottom Half. Click over to LMB for a preview track too.

The Rapture, who drew a large crowd at SXSW, will team up with label mates Shiny Toy Guns, on a 21 city US tour kicks off in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on April 21, and ends up in Burlington, Vermont on May 23. Look for them on the road, meanwhile, check out some vids: The Rapture "Pieces of the People We Love" and Shiny Toy Guns "You Are The One".

Labels: Mp3s, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Umphrey's McGee

The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival continues to take shape. Produced by Relix Magazine and Peter Shapiro, the 2nd annual celebration of Earth Day will take place April 19-22 with concerts in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.

Anchoring this year's festivities will be free Earth Day concerts featuring Bob Weir and Ratdog in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, a double bill of Umphrey's McGee and the Disco Biscuits at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and children's star Laurie Berkner performing in New York City's Central Park. The Lincoln Park show will also feature Jeff Tweedy and Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd & The Monsters.

Each city will host a series of live shows throughout the long weekend with Chicago's slate of bands proving the most varied: in addition to separate performances by Umphrey's and the Biscuits at the VIC Theater, The Decemberists and Andrew Bird will play sets at the Riviera Theater and J.J. Grey and MOFRO and New Monsoon will perform at the House of Blues. In California, Tea Leaf Green and the Yonder Mountain String Band will respectively play the Fillmore on successive nights. New York City will feature two nights at the Lions' Den by The Radiators, a Zero reunion show with Steve Kimock at the newly opened Gramercy Theate, Particle returning to the Bowery Ballroom and a Beacon Theater concert by . . . Taylor Hicks.

New York's GAMF will open with at the Lower East Side's Tonic with two acoustic performances by the Benevento/Russo Duo and will close with Joe Russo participating in the reunion of Fat Mama.

Labels: Benevento/Russo Duo, Disco Biscuits, Green Apple Music and Arts Festival, Ratdog, Umphrey's McGee

By: David Schultz

More than eight hours after the music began at the 6th Annual Jammy Awards at the Theatre at New York City's Madison Square Garden, U-Melt wrapped up their late-night, after-hours set at Lucille's Café inside the B.B. King Blues Club. By the time U-Melt launched into a seamless version of "Jacob's Ladder" and "Cloud Box" to close the show, the main stage area had been emptied, cleaned and locked up, Zappa Plays Zappa, Dweezil Zappa's revue honoring his father Frank Zappa, having finished long ago. Even with sunrise looming on the horizon, Lucille's remained filled with exhausted but frenzied fans relishing the experience and planning their excuses for skipping work the next day. And, it's just the beginning. In past years, U-Melt's after-Jammy show, which featured a guest appearance by Rob Somerville of Deep Banana Blackout, would end the festivities, but this year the Jammy Awards are the springboard for the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival that will inhabit New York City throughout the weekend.

Without question, the Jammy Awards generate more excitement than any other awards show. In celebrating the spontaneity, excitement and enjoyment of live music, the Jammys have a well-deserved reputation as a show where you will get to see and hear something you're unlikely to see anywhere else. 1/10th awards, 9/10ths concert, the Jammys pair musicians together for live performances that seem awkward on paper but, more times than not, sound phenomenal on stage.

Even with jamband titans regularly in attendance, the show typically gets stolen by an artist that seems foreign to the scene. At last year's show, Huey Lewis' strong performance with Umphrey's McGee brought down the house and Ryan Adams amazed the crowd by bringing out by freeing his inner Deadhead, teaming with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh for a spot-on reading of "Wharf Rat" and "Bird Song." This year, Peter Frampton turned in the standout performance. That is not a typo and bears repeating, Peter Frampton rocked the Jammys. Playing with Guster and guitarist Martin Sexton, Frampton came alive once again with a rendition of "Do You Feel Like I Do" complete with seventies-era talk box. No longer the fresh faced youth depicted on his most successful album, Frampton showed why his name will always be associated with live music in the annals of rock history.

The Mutaytor, a troupe of drummers, percussionists and performance artists, provided another of the evening's pleasant surprises. Joining Grateful Dead drummers and Jammy Awards co-hosts Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman, The Mutaytor's dozen or so members gave proper thunder to a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile." The Rhythm Devils' set seemed to clear the backstage area as by the time they finished running through Santana's "Jingo" and "Iko Iko," Steve Kimock, Mike Gordon, Charlie Musselwhite and many others had joined the tribalesque fun.

As he did at Woodstock ages ago, Richie Havens, wearing what looked like a homemade dress, opened the evening with The Mutaytor drums performing an inspired "Freedom" before yielding the stage to Mutaytor's performance artists. Blues Traveler teamed up with DJ Logic and R & B legend Bettye Lavette that featured the spry 60-year-old soul singer own the stage, forcing John Popper to keep up with her on their cover of "Magic Carpet Ride." One of the evening’s more intriguing pairings involved Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, jazz pianist McCoy Tyner and tap dancer Savion Glover. The only thing more enjoyable than Victor Wooten and Glover's bass/tap dance duo was the bemused expression on Tyner's face as he tried to comprehend what he was watching.

After engaging in a competition as to who could wear the silliest hat, Steve Kimock and Joe Satriani teamed up for some guitar fireworks. Midway through their set, they were joined by Grace Potter on keyboards for a mindblowing rendition of Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer." Potter and her band the Nocturnals received the New Groove of the Year award earlier in the show and the young singer/guitarist/keyboard player more than held her own with the two veteran guitarists.

Frank Zappa, whose inventive influence plays an enormous role in the jamband world, posthumously received the Lifetime Achievement Award. In accepting the award on behalf of his father, Dweezil Zappa noted that his father really didn't like awards or award shows but thinks he would have really appreciated his honor from the Jammys. Zappa then took the stage with Napoleon Murphy Brock and his new Zappa Plays Zappa ensemble for, what else, a set of Zappa tunes. Even though the set contained standout solos from keyboardist Chick Corea and Umphrey's McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger, the set wasn't the blowaway transcendent performance most hoped for.

At the 3rd annual Jammys, moe. braved the chants of "More Cowbell," playing with Blue Oyster Cult. This year, moe. had the stage relatively to themselves, being lent an unintrusive hand by The Mad Professor, covering "The Guns of Brixton" and offering a lengthy version of "Buster." Little Feat and blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin, anchored the final spot in the lineup, being joined by Stephen and Ky-Mani Marley and ultimately everyone else for an all-star finale of "One Love." Once the Bob Marley tune, intended as the evening's last number, concluded, Little Feat broke into an impromptu rendition of "Dixie Chicken," ending the night with a flourish.

Amidst all the excitement, awards were handed out in categories like Live Performance of the Year, Live Album of the Year, Studio Album of the Year and Tour of the Year. Like any awards show, it's tempting to parse through all the trophies handed out, the speeches of gratitude and the recognition of exceptional achievement in an attempt to discern a winner. At the Jammys, such an endeavor always leads back to the same winner each year - - - the audience.

The 2006 Jammy Awards went to:

Tour of the Year:
Big Summer Classic Tour (String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Yonder Mountain String Band, Umphrey's McGee, New Monsoon, and Xavier Rudd)

Live Performance of the Year:
moe. Tsunami Relief Benefit, Roseland Ballroom, NYC, 2/10/05 (with Trey Anastasio, Sam Bush, Jennifer Hartswick, John Medeski and Ray Paczkowski)

Live Album of the Year:
Widespread Panic - Live at Myrtle Beach

Studio Album of the Year:
Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon - Sixty Six Steps

Archival Album of the Year:
Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden New Year's Eve 1995

Song of the Year:
Tea Leaf Green - "Taught To Be Proud"

New Groove:
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

DVD of the Year:
Bob Dylan - No Direction Home

Global Rhythm World Music Award:
Baaba Maal

Labels: DJ Logic, Dweezil Zappa, Frank Zappa, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, moe., Peter Frampton, Steve Kimock, Tea Leaf Green, U-Melt, Umphrey's McGee, Victor Wooten, Zappa Plays Zappa

Umphrey's McGee and North Mississippi Allstars at Bowrey Ballroom
By: David Schultz

For almost a decade, Umphrey's McGee has cultivated a grass roots following borne from favorable word-of-mouth about the strength of their live shows. The band's seemingly endless tour brought them to New York's Irving Plaza for a pair of weekend performances. Overlapping with Umphrey's, the North Mississippi Allstars, led by guitar wizard Luther Dickinson, took over the lower east side's Bowery Ballroom for a two night run of their own. Far from being the difference between north and south, the two shows were further distinguished by the competency of the bands involved: where the Allstars have comfortably found their sound and work hard at excelling at their blues-based southern sound, Umphrey's attempts to be a jack of all trades, mastering quite few.

Umphrey's exudes an overly earnest attitude on stage. However, the sincerity doesn't originate from their appreciation of the fans nor their joy for the music they're playing; rather Umphrey's radiates a natural genuineness over how great they imagine themselves to be. If they finessed this, honing the irony inherent with such an attitude, they could easily become the jamband version of KISS. Unfortunately, the irony appears completely inadvertent. Nattily dressed in collared shirts and jeans, Umphrey's displays a confident demeanor on stage, all while indulging themselves with every song. Their young and rabid fan base, which has expertly mastered the backwards baseball hat look, does not seem to mind and make no effort to conceal their uninhibited joy at being at an Umphrey's show. Compared to some fans reaction to the band's rendition of "The Bottom Half," lottery winners seem subdued.

Umphrey's love of the synthesized sounds of the eighties comes through in their music in an offbeat manner. Where the Killers distill the best out of that genre, Umphrey's gravitates towards the worst. The band takes their leads from their two guitarists Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss with keyboardist Andy Cummins contributing heavily towards their groove. Drummer Kris Myers adeptly and admirably gives a sturdy backbone to this incredibly schizophrenic band, which will go from heavy prog-rock to electronica to heavy metal to easy-going guitar melodies, sometimes all during the same song. On one hand they should be applauded for bringing different elements to their music, but a lot of the different genres they mix together don’t blend well together and come across as forced. Umphrey's succeeds most when they stay with the laid-back guitar-heavy sound that mark their best songs. This night, the group hit their stride best when they focused on loose guitar based rock like their second set opener "All In Time." When they veer into techno-jumbles like "Robot World" or grind out heavy metal 80's metal like "Nopener," they cross the line between experimental and antagonistic. In other hands, Umphrey' cover of "Wild Side," could be campy fun but they tackled the tune with a curious sincerity that removed all guilty pleasure to be obtained from the Crue "classic." Similarly misplaced, their flirtation with reggae yielded unto them the same rewards as Al Capone's vault.

That all being said, Umphrey's fans eat their live shows up, savoring each solo and song like they were being served crack covered corn flakes. The shame of the matter is that Umphrey's McGee is an incredibly tight band that exuberantly encourages each other while demonstrating a solid familiarity with their long time band mates. Oftentimes, Bayliss and Cinninger will get in each other's face adding a little confrontational energy to the mix. Unlike Phish, a band that pushed each other in unfamiliar directions, stretching and expanding their skills, Umphrey's lead each other down familiar roads and into comfortable territory, reveling in their grandeur all the while.

Umphrey's indulge themselves onstage, offering fare that borders on the ridiculous. Launching the show on a humorous note, the band hit the stage to the strains of the legendary Vince DiCola’s training montage music from Rocky IV, running the joke thin when they let the song play too long. Completely beating the horse dead, they repeated the stunt for the second set. Another first set misfire involved the introduction of Ugochi, a Chicago-area female singer, as if her appearance would inspire the same awe as an Aretha Franklin appearance to sing lead on the Bill Withers tune "Ain't No Sunshine." Umphrey's seemed flat throughout the smoky, torch song and the selection, which sounded outside of her natural range, seemed a poor match for Ugochi as well

Riding that fine line between clever and stupid: the encore drifted into Spinal Tap territory. 80's icon Huey Lewis joined the band for the second time in as many nights for a cover of The Band's "The Weight." The unlikely combination of Lewis and Umphrey's was not without precedent, the two having collaborated at the 2005 Jammy Awards ceremony this past April. Although joining together on the Band classic just months ago, Lewis appeared to have forgotten the words and he made no effort to conceal his cribbing of lyrics, holding them out in front of him while he sang. Backing the square hipster, Umphrey's seemed content and in the right groove, graciously allowing Lewis space for a couple harmonica solos. Embarrassingly, Lewis conducted an impromptu huddle with Cinninger, Bayliss and bassist Ryan Stasik, where Lewis seemed to teach the Umphrey's boys how to play a blues progression on his harmonica. The sight of Lewis, a better musician than his reputation would lead you to believe, instructing a relatively established band on the basics of the blues scored high on the unintentional comedy scale. To Umphrey's credit, they picked up on the tune quickly enough, ably backing Lewis through a blues tune they were obviously unfamiliar with.

With the crowd progressing towards the door and the house lights lit, Umphrey's felt the need to return to the stage for a second encore, despite the absence of the prodding that should normally accompany such an act. Conveying undeserved hubris, the band blasted the annoying strains of the Notre Dame fight song through the loudspeakers before concluding the evening with an extended version of "Hurt Bird Bath."

In contrast, the North Mississippi Allstars' Friday night performance at the Bowery Ballroom, also the second of two, showed a band confidently finding their sound. Possessing ten times the talent and a tenth of the ego as Umphrey's McGee, bespectacled guitarist Luther Dickinson lent his considerable guitar skills to the Allstars 21st century brand of old-style southern blues. The Allstars, comprised of Luther, his brother and drummer Cody and professional wrestling sized bassist Chris Chew, impressively moved from New Orleans-style zydeco to swamp rock to gospel-tinged blues. Although Luther Dickinson remains the band's draw, each of the Allstars is given time fronting the band. Cody came from behind the drums to lead the band on the electric washboard masterpiece "Psychedelic Sex Machine," and made the most bizarre of instruments seem revolutionary. Playfully waving and winking to the crowd, Chew brings a contagious sense of fun to the show and his vocals on the night's "Turn On Your Lovelight" themed encore bordered on the exhortations of a Southern preacher. Despite bouncing between genres like their Notre Dame jamband brethren, the Allstars exhibited more cohesiveness and a more defined sense of purpose.

The NMA excel when Luther leads the band. From the first riffs of the opening medley of "Shimmy She Wobble" and "Station Blues," through their set closing medley of R.L. Burnside's "Po Black Maddie" and "Skinny Woman," the trio raises their game when Luther lays down tight but free-flowing guitar solos over Cody's whip crack drumming and Chew's laid-back, funky bass. Their Burnside medley, already the highlight of any NMA show, must be dearer to them since Burnside's passing and should become their "Free Bird."

After seeing the Allstars live, you can't help but think that this exceptional trio will get even better with time. The same cannot be said for Umphrey's McGee, who have been around for years and seem quite satisfied with the level of their performance. Without the willingness to adapt or hone their sound into something coherent, Umphrey's chances of rising above the grass-roots level of success they've achieved seem extraordinarily unlikely. As for the Allstars, like Luther sings on "Station Blues," they should be "sitting on top of the world."

Labels: North Mississippi Allstars, Umphrey's McGee

At roughly 4:15, Umphrey's McGee, the Indiana based jamband took the stage at the Prospect Park Bandshell as part of the 2005 Big Summer Classic. The crowd, which was baking in the late afternoon sun, greeted the band by producing numerous beach balls and took great delight in batting them about while the band started to groove. The largest, a globelike green beach ball, made its way towards the sound booth and came to rest in an empty row. A squat bald overweight man came over and grabs the ball but rather than send it back amongst the crowd calmly pierces it with his lit cigarette. Fans O the Jamband: Welcome to Brooklyn!!

The Big Summer Classic is this year's top touring jamband festival. Finding its roots in Monterey and Woodstock, the Summer Classic's proper progenitor is the H.O.R.D.E. festivals of the mid nineties. Following the success of Perry Farrell's Lollapalooza concerts, John Popper and Blues Traveler created Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere. Gathering their musical comrades like The Spin Doctors, Widespread Panic and the Samples, the H.O.R.D.E. festival toured the country spreading good vibes everywhere.

Jamband festivals have maintained their link to their 60's ancestors by fostering social awareness and political activism. War protestors, environmental activists and marijuana decriminalization supporters gather with the purpose of rallying their brethren to support their cause and using the momentum to achieve social change. The politics and beliefs of the crowd were usually echoed back to them by the musicians on stage creating one big communal atmosphere of peace and love. It is in this respect that the Big Summer Classic separates itself. Despite an unpopular ongoing war in Iraq, Michael Franti was the only one to even mention it much less denounce it. The 2005 jamband crowd doesn't seem to want to their groove disturbed by the outside world.

That is not to say that there weren't some relics of the old hippie festivals. Concert goers were encouraged to proceed through the "Karma Wash" in which Karma technicians would ward off the bad vibes from your person through their proficient use of feathers and goodwill. Relix magazine had a prominent presence with spontaneous drum circles erupting between sets by their tent. Most entertaining were the twenty foot high inflatable Sumo wrestlers, the symbols of the tour, that towered over the back of the park grounds. Although there was a good smattering of tie dye, the clothing of choice of today's concert-goer seems to be a simple T and shorts.

Oh yes, there was also some music -- a lot of good music. With the sun beating down on the stage, the early arriving fans fell into two groups: those crushing up against the stage to get as close to the band as possible and those laying back on the lawn in the shade with a beer. As the concert progressed and the sun set, more and more people abandoned the lawn to the get closer to the music.

San Francisco based New Monsoon opened the show to an enthusiastic response. Possibly owing to its brevity, the band's 4 song set, heavy on percussion and middle Eastern rhythms, was the tightest of the day. Amidst band staples Blast and Daddy Long Legs, the band covered Pink Floyd's Echoes in its near 18 minute entirety, creatively employing a balloon and the sides of their drums to achieve the spacey interlude.

Umphrey's braved the mean spirited beach ball popping troglodyte but still played an underwhelming set. Distracting everyone from the music, the band marred their set by bringing out a horde of dancing girls in ill fitting bikinis and fishnet stockings to writhe around arythmically and unsexily.

Michael Franti and Spearhead attempted to enlighten as well as entertain. The Umphrey dancing girls were put to better use as they paraded throughout the crowd with placards containing aphorisms from the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Alice Walker, Ghandi, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Spearhead's set also contributed the only mention of the Iraqi war with Franti exhorting "Bush War 1, Bush War 2, Got a war for me and a war for you" during Everyone Deserves Music's We Don't Stop.

Musically, Spearhead brought the crowd to their feet with reggae infused socially aware songs like Yes I Will and Yell Fire. String Cheese Incident's Michael Kang joined the band halfway through the set, notably contributing his violin to a rousing version of Everlast's What I Got. In a stranger accompaniment, a large muscular gent with black militant shades joined the band -- for a flower arrangement solo, which didn't last long enough as it seemed there were some lilies to add to the mix.

Playing barefoot, Keller Williams brought his unique blend of acoustic guitar mastery and backing audio loops. Onstage, Williams is an overgrown child having fun with all his various bells, whistles and theremin. Like a talented and funnier version of Carrottop, he brings the instruments out at random intervals and adds them to the backing loop. The one drawback to the loops is that it is difficult to tell when Williams is playing and when you are listening to a recording.

Williams uses his technical and musical acumen to great effect and his "one-man band" is truly unique and something to see live. Quite likely, someone will eventually outdo Williams at his own game and gain a larger audience with a similar act. Hopefully, they will have the humility to acknowledge Williams as the progenitor of this inventive mix of man and machine. Until that time though, there is noone else doing this better

His set included his normal batch of eclectic originals as well as covers of Gin and Juice, Candyman and Fly Like An Eagle. The set also contained another standard of the jamband festival -- the seamless transition with the next act. As Williams wound his set down, he was progressively joined by members of the Yonder Mountain String Band. With the whole String Band finally on stage for the Steve Miller closer, Williams finished up, waved goodbye and without stopping the YMSB took off with an hour of their brand of bluegrass and country. The collaborations between the bands continued as String Cheese's Bill Nershi joined the band for last third of their set.

With the sun set, the show was closed by the undisputed headliner of the Classic, String Cheese Incident. While most of the Brooklyn crowd came to see the Cheese, a theory supported by the multitude of enraptured spasmodic arhytymic dancers, they failed to enthrall the entire crowd. String Cheese's studio sound is grounded in bluegrass but onstage their sound is reminiscent of Graceland era Paul Simon fused with an inspired jamheavy Miami Sound Machine with the whole conglomeration seeking Harry Belafonte's approval to use calypso.

This night, the band made some odd choices. In the musical equivalent of sitting LeBron James in the 4th quarter of a close game, Michael Kang, an amazing and inventive violin player, played mandolin and guitar for most of the set. The band was also ill-equipped to tackle their cover of Stevie Wonder's I Wish. Missteps aside, String Cheese does have moments where they command attention and did so during the closing tunes One Step Closer and Search. Frustratingly, the frequency of those moments pales in comparison to their predecessors like the Grateful Dead and Phish.

Bringing back members from Umphrey's McGee and Spearhead, SCI appropriately ended the show with an encore of the Beastie Boys No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Michael Franti came onstage mid song for a little free style before being joined by dancing trees who helped lead the crowd in a chant for MORE - TREES -- IN -- BROOKLYN!

Labels: Bill Nershi, Keller Williams, Michael Franti, New Monsoon, Spearhead, String Cheese Incident, Umphrey's McGee, Yonder Mountain String Band