Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Two big shows at Kenny's Castaways in the next two weeks!


Sat, May 24th
Steve-o Productions Presents a night of Roots/Rockabilly/Reggae:
8:00 The Groovement
9:00 Danny Doran
10:00 Crucial
11:30 The Frotters
---------------------------------------
1:30 PSYLAB
(hosting the New Deal after-party)


Fri, May 30th
Steve-o Productions Presents and evening of Rock 'n' Jazz:
7:30 to be a High Powered Executive
8:30 TBD
10:00 Urban Fetch
11:00 Rubblebucket Orchestra
1:00 Justin Rothberg Trio

Monday, May 12, 2008

Thursday, May 08, 2008

The Jammy's has put the fans through some random and half-baked jams, but never before has this been offensive and damaging to the legacy of the music it aspires to represent.

Last night I had to watch all four members of Phish walk onto a stage together and walk off for the first time in almost four years, and they did not play a single note. This was to be expected albeit upsetting, but following this insult a compilation of the most mediocre musicians from throughout the "scene" came out to destroy some of Phish's most beloved songs.

Did no one think this would be harrowing and hurtful? I know there are plenty of fans of the Disco Biscuits and the String Cheese Incident. I am not one, because I like music. These bands admittedly built their careers mooching off of Phish. In the music world one should either be original like Phish, great at writing songs like Tom Petty, or technically proficient in playing like Steve Vai. Frank Zappa and the Mothers were all of these. Bisco and SCI are none. They add nothing and have no awareness of the roots of the music they play. Their jams go nowhere. They are derivative. [I suspect drug use is required to get through their seemingly never-ending sets.]

Maybe Trey was right, and Phish was a time and a place and you just had to be there. Plenty of people were grooving to last night's "2001" (or what sounded to me like a lowly Bisco jam), and maybe none of them had the privilege to be in that time and place.

It made me realize how complex Phish's music was. How unique. How emotional. Last night's superjam was anything but.

Until that point I would have said this was the finest Jammy's to date. I was giddy as a schoolgirl when Trey came out with the Fab Faux. Leslie West with Rose Hill Drive was cool, as were the geriatric stylings of Chevy Chase. But the culmination of the evening essentially ruined one of my favorite bands for me.

It was ironic how throughout the evening people kept referring to the loyalty of Phish's fans and assuring us that the band feels the same. Many people say that their final concert at Coventry, which was easily the most difficult experience I've ever had, was also their worst concert. Last night's insult far exceeds even that.

Why do the things we love always have to hurt us?