LeRoi Moore Injured, Dave Matthews Band To Continue Tour

In an evening post on Dave Matthews Band fansite AntsMarching.org, it was announced that longtime saxophone player Leroi Moore was hospitalized for injuries sustained during an all-terrain vehicle accident at his home in Charlottesville. Moore was transported to the UVA Hospital and listed as in serious condition. A call to the UVA Health System was not immediately answered.

Information about Moore's injury was originally posted on longtime DMB website The Warehouse. Moore's injury occurred during a two-day break between performances, following a June 28 gig at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia. According to AntsMarching, the band announced that Jeff Coffin, sax player for Béla Fleck, would replace Moore while he was recovering.

C-Ville, Charlottesville News and Arts

The WeightStaff are all Dave Matthews Band fans from a long time ago (1994-?) and eventhough we've lost touch with the band (not literally), this news still strikes a chord. I remember seeing LeRoi join Phish on stage on 7/21/97 in Virginia Beach. The liner notes from that show read, "The jam out of Theme, as well as Funky Bitch, featured LeRoi Moore on saxophone. The jam with LeRoi included a segment where he played two saxes, Trey played three guitars, Mike played two basses and the Cracklin' Rosie cymbals, Fish had four drumsticks and Page was lying across his keyboards playing as many as possible. It was an insane visual experience that can't be explained either in words or on tape." That about sums it up. It's been a long time since I'd thought about that show.

Here's to a speedy recovery for LeRoi Moore and I hope that he's soon back on the road with the band.

Just two nights ago, on 6/28, LeRoi and the boys debuted a cover of Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer at the Nissan Pavillion in Bristow, VA:

John Mayer Wins Over Glastonbury Crowd

After playing the Hard Rock Calling event in London's Hyde Park on Saturday, on a bill that also featured Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton, and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, John Mayer brought his band to the Glastonbury festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset to play on Sunday. According to the NME, the amassed crowd grew between each song played. His set included covers by George Harrison, Cream, and fellow Glastonbury 2008 act Duffy. John Mayer really seems to be playing his career smart in pulling out appropriate covers for the audience he's playing to. I don't think there is one other act on the Glasto bill, and I haven't even seen the full lineup, who would have the balls to tackle a George Harrison tune.


I've been listening to my advance copy of "John Mayer: Where the Light Is - Live in Los Angeles," coming out on Tuesday, July 1st, and I have to say that this guy can really play the guitar and write a solid song. Say what you want about his appearances on celebrity gossip websites, but you cannot deny his skills as a musician. Also released on Tuesday is a DVD version of the same concert from December 2007, which is directed by famed concert photographer and friend of Phish, Danny Clinch.

His full set at Glastonbury was:
'Vultures'
'I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You'
'My Sweet Lord'
'Waiting On The World To Change'
'Mercy'
'Belief'
'Stitched Up'
'Crossroads'
'Gravity'

Since I don't have the Glastonbury footage yet, take a look at John performing My Sweet Lord last week, 6/22/08, in The Netherlands:

Jay-Z Gets It Right At Glastonbury

Last year, tickets to the Glastonbury festival sold out in just 90 minutes, but this year they were still available up until a few days ago. Some blamed bad weather in recent years for keeping punters away and others blamed the booking of Jay-Z, a hip-hop artist, in place of the traditional rock act as a headliner. In completing his set on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in England tonight, Jay-Z proved the critics wrong by performing what is already considered to be a historic set. Weeks ago, Oasis' Noel Gallagher garnered significant press after making negative statements about the selection of a hip-hop artist to headline. Following the publication of Noel's thoughts, farm owner and festival founder Michael Eavis staunchly defended his booking of Jay-Z and offered to personally introduce the artist on stage, implying that this is something he hardly ever does. As a response to Gallagher's heavily publicized opinion, Jay cheekily started his set with the opening verses from Oasis' own Wonderwall, quickly gaining favor with the enormous crowd. [Note: Oasis headlined the Pyramid stage in 2004]. The proper opener was his own '99 Problems'. He went on to incorporate snippets from other British rock bands throughout his set including AC/DC, U2, and The Prodigy.

Reading the positive press about the success of this hip-hop headlining festival performance couldn't be further from reading the negative stories that emerged from this month's Bonnaroo festival and its disasterous experience with rapper Kanye West on its What Stage. Well done Jay and well done Michael Eavis.

Watch Jay-Z perform the opening verses of Wonderwall and the full '99 Problems':



Watch Jay-Z perform a live mash-up of his own 'Aint No Love In The Heart of the City' with U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' into another mash-up of 'Encore', his single with Linkin Park:



Setlist:

Wonderwall
99 problems (Back In Black samples)
Is That Your Chick
Rehab (Amy Winehouse remix)
I Know
A Billie (A Millie Freestyle)
Blue Magic
Minority Report
PSA
Dirt Off Your Shoulders
Jigga What, Jigga Who
Izzo (H.O.V.A)
Can I Get A
Beware Of The Boys
Give It To Me (I Just Wanna Love You)
Show Me What You Got
Excuse Me Miss
Song Cry
Girls, Girls, Girls
American Boy Remix
Umbrella
Big Pimpin
Hard Knock Life
Heart Of The City (Sunday Bloody Sunday samples)
Encore

UPDATE: Videos, Video, Videos!!! The Hip Hop Chronicle has posted numerous videos from Jay-Z's set, which they're labeling as "Jay-Z Glastonbury Performance (FULL VIDEO)". Check it' out!

Mike Weighs Options, Page Hopes to Ride With Companions

I seem to be the last one to know about this news because Rolling Stone, Hidden Track, and Jambands.com have all already posted the latest quotes from Mike and Page about the impending Phish reunion. So I'll just let you see how each of them have presented the news:

Rolling Stone -Phish Reunion? Mike Gordon Is “Optimistic,” Says Band Met With Lillywhite

Hidden Track - Mike and Page Feed The Phish Reunion Fire

Jambands.com - Page Comments on Phish Reunion

Better Men, Day 2: Pearl Jam, New York City, 6/25/08

Can't find a better show.

I'm seriously at a loss for words. Maybe it's writer's block or maybe I'm still in awe from what I experienced last night. I've never felt the floors at The Garden shake like they did yesterday. It would have probably registered a 4 or 5 on the Richter Scale. The crowd was deafening. The camaraderie amongst the audience was inexpressible. PJ fans are unquestionably amongst the most devout fans in the world; and yes, I'm including the Dead and Phish in that category. The songs: they played "State of Love and Trust," one of my all-time favorites. They played "Corduroy," "Daughter," "Alive," "Evenflow," "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town", "Leash," "Better Man," "Garden," "Yellow Ledbetter," "Last Kiss" (which was played facing the back of the arena for the obstructed view folks), and "Why Go." The legendary Ace Frehley joined the band for Kiss's "Black Diamond." C.J. Ramone made a reappearance as well. There were dedications to George Carlin and the troops abroad. The band made mistakes, lyrics were bungled, songs were re-started. It didn't matter. They were flawless.

The show ended with Mike McCready nailing the Star-Spangled Banner/Taps a la Jimi Hendrix - I will never forget this. And then, it was over.

Pearl Jam
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
6/25/08

First Set: Release, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Corduroy, All Night, Cropduster, Garden, Marker In The Sand, I'm Open, Wishlist, State Of Love And Trust, Even Flow, Who You Are, Rats, Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, Go

Encore #1: Inside Job, W.M.A., Lukin, I Believe In Miracles (w/ C.J. Ramone), Better Man (Save it for Later), Rearviewmirror

Encore #2: No More, Last Kiss, Why Go, Black Diamond (w/ Ace Frehley on lead guitar, Matt Cameron on lead vocals), Alive, Yellow Ledbetter, Star-Spangled Banner/Taps (Mike McCready guitar solo)

Better Men: Pearl Jam, New York City, 6/24/08

With all due respect to the Dolan family, Pearl Jam owned The Garden last night. The band, whose members are a collective 216 years old (scary), graced the audience with their usual 2 1/2 + hours of fan favorites, assorted rarities and obscure covers. I really can't describe in words the energy level I experienced last night - it simply wouldn't do justice. You would have thought it was their last show ever.

Just to set the record straight, despite having seen PJ four times (they don't tour all that often), I'm hardly an authority on the band. Like most everyone who owned a radio and cd player in the 90's, I know the standards. But after Vitalogy, I never really kept up with the newer material. In my defense however, I'd like to think that I was an original. I donned the obligatory flannel shirt and Chuck Taylors in the early days of the grunge movement in tribute to the Seattle rockers (in fact, "Alive" was one of the first songs I learned on guitar). It was one of the few upsides to being a teen in the early 90's.

So, still on the PJ high from Bonnaroo (which will never be topped), I made my way over to MSG right before 9:00, strategically missing Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - no disrespect to the band. My seats were in section 300 something, which after standing a mere 100 feet away from the band at Bonnaroo, was somewhat of a buzzkill. But the second the lights went down, all that mattered was the music. The entire arena was filled to the brim, literally. Even the very top rows BEHIND the stage were packed. I have NEVER seen this before at any indoor concert. From the first song onward, the word from the die-hards in my area was that it was the "best first set ever." True or not true, who was I to doubt them.

The audience was unreal. The call and response between Vedder and the crowd would have made Muddy Waters jealous. They knew EVERY word to EVERY song. Every nuance, variation, inflection, grunt, and mumble was mimicked back precisely. Eddie was pouring wine into cups for the lucky front-rowers and was kicking around the stage in ways that eerily resembled Jim Morrison. It was surreal.

Encore #1 started with The Who's classic, "Love, Reign o'er Me", which
features Kenneth "Boom" Gaspar on the keys. I heard this for the first time at Bonnaroo and it was just as moving this time around as it was then. Later, during the 2nd encore, C.J. Ramone came out and played the Ramones song, "I Believe in Miracles." I didn't even know there was a C.J. Ramone in The Ramones! It was classic. The whole evening was classic. Strike that. It was historic.

So, I'm going back tonight -- alone. My seat sucks. The beer is expensive. My ears are still ringing from last night. I'm sleep-deprived. Yet, I have no doubt that Pearl Jam will make it all better.

Pearl Jam
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
June 24, 2008

Set 1: Hard To Imagine, Save You, Why Go, All Night, Corduroy, Faithfull, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Down, Unemployable, Given To Fly, Who You Are, Whipping, 1/2 Full, Even Flow, Present Tense, Daughter, Do The Evolution

Encore 1: Love Reign O'er Me, W.M.A., Leash, Spin The Black Circle, Wasted Reprise, Porch

Encore 2: No More, Crazy Mary, Comatose, I Believe In Miracles w/ C.J. Ramone, Alive

Encore 3: All Along The Watchtower, Indifference

Late Explanation: Kanye Talks Bonnaroo

Kanye West, in his own words, explains why he took the What Stage almost two hours after he was scheduled to perform in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 15th at this year's Bonnaroo festival.

MMJ Killed the Radio Hall, 6/20/08

Jim James may have stated he was in awe of standing on the same stage where Aretha once stood, but JJ and My Morning Jacket owned Radio City Music Hall on Friday night and not many fans in attendance would have preferred the Queen of Soul. With a level of energy and buzz in the air normally reserved for the four boys from Vermont, My Morning Jacket brought back full force why I love live music because this wasn't a concert...it was an experience. The lights were stellar, the sound in RCMH was rich, the guitars soared, Jim was like a kid on Red Bull, all fans were grooving from the opening notes, and the band played like they had something to prove. If Phish comes back, and I sure as hell hope they do, they truly have competition from these five boys from Kentucky.

Opening with 'Evil Urges' from that same titled disc, the group played the full spectrum of styles that their fans have come to appreciate. From the surprisingly sublime Prince/Beck funk falsetto off of the new album to the more expected Crazy Horse guitar wailing, white-boy reggae sounds, and Gram Parsons-style county, every song took the crowd for a ride. There were more "stare at your friends with jaws dropped' moments than should be legal.

And after all of that love, I'm not an MMJ fanatic (at least not before this show). I have seen snippets of sets from them at Bonnaroo each time they play and even ruined my friends' night by making them check out SuperJam rather than MMJ this year. That mistake will never be made again and may never get lived down.

I have to say that when tickets went on sale in January for this show, and it sold out in minutes, this was clearly to be MMJ's most important show to date. And at the time it should have been. But the band appears to be on a much faster and steeper upward trajectory than anybody could have imagined considering their upcoming New Year's Eve date with destiny at Madison Square Garden. And it is well deserved. Even as big of a show as Radio City fucking Music Hall must be for the band, this was just one stop on the MMJ ride to the top.

For a great example of how quickly this band can turn on fans, check out this clip of the group playing 'One Big Holiday' on Conan way back in 2003, pre-Jim James haircut. If you're impatient, fast forward until the end when Conan shows his obvious new found love. Made me smile.

My Thoughts on Bonnaroo

I wrote a few words for our friends at Hidden Track about my trip to this year's Bonnaroo festival. Check it out here.

Forbin 500

The following information provides some insight into recent business dealings with Phish, DMB, and Coran Capshaw (content borrowed from PT):

coran capshaw manages DMB. he also manages trey. they also moved all the archives and biz materials from VT to VA (where coran works out of) a few months ago. coran will manage phish. coran also puts on b'roo (or his $ does) and he is the co-producer of the denver aeg fest as well as the outside lands fest in SF. he also owns charlottesville brewery and the charlotteville pavillion. and starr hill music hall. and red light management company. red light manages tons of acts. red light and madison house (SCI mgmt) and now the same company. SCI and phish are managed then, or will be, by the same company. worlds collide.