Live Coverage of Bonnaroo 2010 on MoeTrainsTracks.com by Moe and B!

It’s that time of year again, and Moe Train’s Tracks is headed to Manchester, TN for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival!  King B and The Train will be bringing you a totally new Tracks experience with this year’s coverage.  We’ll be blogging on the site as all of the action unfolds over the weekend, as well as getting great interviews with the fest’s top musicians, concert photos and more!

We embark on our trip from Philadelphia and will be arriving in Manchester, TN about 12 (ugh!) hours later.  Who knows what the road will hold for us, besides a ridiculously long time on Route 81 (that road SUCKS!), and pure Excelsior insanity!  Keep connected to the Tracks by following on Twitter (@MoeTrainsTracks), and watching the site for lots of great updates…

We’ll be camped out by the front of the Bonnaroo arch, so if you see us, come say hi!  If we’re not there, we’ll be bouncing around the grounds doing our artist interviews, taking in a ton of shows, and interviewing people in the crowds.  We plan on checking out as much of the festival as possible, and we hope to meet as many of you as possible!  If you have any great tips  about what’s going on at the festival, or just want us to come stop by and hang out.. Message us on Twitter, and we’ll try to stop by!

Bonnaroo has always been one of our favorite festivals to cover and we’re especially looking forward to spreading our Global Domination Tour to Manchester, Tennessee and Bonnaroo!

WE’LL SEE YOU ON THE FARM!!!  BONNNNARRRROOOOOOOOOOOO!

Related articles:

• Bonnaroo Live Webcasts (jambase.com)
• Why They Call It… Bonnaroo (spin.com)
• FREE ALBUM! SPIN’s Picks for Bonnaroo 2010 (spin.com)

MTT Remembers Paul Gray (#2, The Pig) of Slipknot (R.I.P.)

We had the opportunity (and pleasure) to be in the photo pit during Slipknot’s Mayhem Festival stop in Camden, NJ.  Not only was it the first and only time we’d ever seen Slipknot, but was also hands down one of the most insane concert experiences ever.  We’d already been spit on my Marilyn Manson, shredded to death by Dragonforce, but Slipknot took the overall trophy that day.

Paul Gray, the bassist of Slipknot, was found dead on May 24, 2010 in his Iowa hotel room.  Known as #2 or The Pig, Gray made a huge impact on the rock world through Slipknot’s musical contributions.  #2′s death follows very closely after the passing of Ronnie James Dio and Peter Steel of Type-O Negative.  People always say that things happen in threes…

We had the opportunity (and pleasure) to be in the photo pit during Slipknot’s Mayhem Festival stop in Camden, NJ.  Not only was it the first and only time we’d ever seen Slipknot, but was also hands down one of the most insane concert experiences ever.  We’d already been spit on my Marilyn Manson, shredded to death by Dragonforce, but Slipknot took the overall trophy that day.

The first thing that came into my mind as the curtains opened was, “what the fuck is going on?!”  Weird creatures crawling all over the stage, hydraulic lift drums, and mass insanity.  The music was brutally tight, and we were quite lucky to be in the safety of the photo pit… That was till they sent one of their goons running through the photo pit to break up the piece.  (I took a serious gut shot from a guy that must have been 6’7 350 lbs!  I didn’t care.  Sometimes I miss being in the pit!)

It was easy to suspend reality during their set as the music with the visuals seamlessly fused in musical madness.  We were literally leaning on the stage.  Corey Taylor kept spitting loogs all over the photographers (thankfully, I avoided it), and all the band members were in our face.  We had an extremely close view of very well calculated theatrics.  However, I can’t help but to think that those who were back in the crowd got the full sense of what transpired that night, not those in the guarded photo pit.

After our time was up in the photo pit, I quickly rushed to the other side of the pit and got into where the real maggots were crawling.  I didn’t know the history of the band, nor the words to any of their songs, but damn, they were bad ass.  It’s this lasting image that I have of #2.  Paul Gray was doing what he loved, to the people that loved him and his music.

His legacy lives in the music and all of the people he touched.

R.I.P. #2.

– Moe

Bonnaroo Top 5 Activities: #5 – The Food Vendors

Within one month, we’ll be joining tens of thousands of festival fans in Manchester, TN at one of our favorite music festivals, Bonnaroo(oooooooooooooooooo!).  The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has more than enough activities to keep you busy 24 hours a day throughout the festival weekend, not even counting the concerts!  Here’s a rundown of 5 of our favorite activities to hit when you’re not jamming out to the music…

(The red circle is our camping spot.)

5.  The Food Vendors

Go anywhere on the farm, and you’ll smell amazing food being cooked all over the place.  Sure, you may smell good food mixed with dirt and B.O., but it still smells pretty good!  Whether you’re in Centeroo getting churros, Chinese, gyros, gigantic slices of pizza, or you’re in the campgrounds having garlic grilled cheese, burritos, or funnel cakes, you’ll never go hungry.

For those who are Bonnaroo veterans, you are very familiar with the lines of vendors which greet you on the way into Centeroo.  Can corn dogs be considered a breakfast!  Hell yeah.  It’s Bonnaroo!  Virtually anything that you could crave (or have the munchies for) can be found on the farm.  We had the giant gyros almost every night, and they definitely gave us the strength to power on for the late night scene.

Didn’t do enough pregaming at your tent?  Hit the Brooers Tent and sample some amazing beers from all over the US.  It’s the microbrew fan’s dream.  Yeah, we know.  You’re not supposed to be drinking during the day… As soon as we get our interviews and on the scene crowd stuff done, we’re indulging.

So stay healthy at Roo.  Keep your body fueled with the amazing eats and drinks to be found on the farm.  It’ll keep you happy and alive!

Related articles:

• Ben & Jerry’s Bonnaroo Flavor (jambase.com)
• Bonnaroo Food Drive (jambase.com)
• Fuse & Twix want to send you and ten of your friends to Bonnaroo 2010 (gadling.com)

Caribou – Swim (6/10)

Had I heard Swim seven years ago I would have loved it, but since I’ve heard 200+ albums over the past couple years that sound exactly like it, I found it unaffectedly boring. – Just another album to listen to while I’m reading.

Caribou – Swim (6 out of 10)

This whole electro-ambient trendy-restaurant-music genre is no longer the exception to the rule, it is the rule (and consequently the genre is rapidly growing more and more annoying).  Had I heard Swim seven years ago I would have loved it, but since I’ve heard 200+ albums over the past couple years that sound exactly like it, I found it unaffectedly boring. – Just another album to listen to while I’m reading.

- B

Related articles:

• Caribou – “Odessa” Video (stereogum.com)
• [MP3] new Caribou: “Cellophane” & “Sea Rea” (iguessimfloating.blogspot.com)
• Caribou Announces World Tour Release Swim 4/20 (jambase.com)

Keller Williams’ Cover Album – “Thief”

Keller Williams releases his first-ever all-covers collection, amusingly titled Thief, on May 25, 2010. Recorded with the Keels—husband and wife duo Larry and Jenny Keel—Thief includes songs originally written and recorded by as wildly diverse an assemblage as anyone’s ever likely to dream up.

Keller is on tour this summer – at solo shows, with The Keels, and even for a run of gigs as vocalist/guitarist in The Rhythm Devils, the project by Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann and his partner percussionist Mickey Hart. Keller’s complete list of currently confirmed tour dates is included below.

Thief offers up Keller-versions of songs by an [almost] unthinkable collection of artists: from Amy Winehou

se (“Rehab”) to the Grateful Dead (“Mountains of the Moon”), the Butthole Surfers (“Pepper”) to Kris Kristofferson (“Don’t Cuss That Fiddle,” which opens the album, and “The Year 2003 Minus 25,” which closes the album). The set is filled out with tunes by Ryan Adams, the Presidents of the United States of America, the Raconteurs, Patterson Hood, Danny Barnes, Cracker, the Yonder Mountain String Band and Marcy Playground. All over the place, indeed, but that’s the way Williams likes it. And in his hands it all makes sense—like everything he’s ever touched, whether from his own pen or someone else’s, it all becomes Keller Williams’ music. Fans are encouraged to stay tuned to http://www.kellerwilliams.net for a big Thief pre-sale and contest announcement coming soon.

Keller’s thirst for music of all kinds has also led him to the world of radio. For the past seven years he has hosted Keller’s Cellar, a weekly syndicated program available on over 40 terrestrial stations and online at http://www.kellerwilliams.net. Williams describes the show as “a self-indulgent, hour-long narrated mix tape of stuff I’m into. It’s rule-less except for what the FCC says we can’t do. I don’t play contemporary country music. I don’t play contemporary Christian music—however, there is possibly some old gospel. I don’t play opera. Everything else is fair game. World music from all around—African music from all the countries, jazz, funk, reggae, techno, chill, lounge, lounge singers, rub-a-dub, dancehall. I pretty much stay away from smooth jazz. It’s definitely a fun outlet for me.”

Long considered one of the most unique and prolific performers in all of rock, the Fredericksburg, Virginia native is known for flying by the seat of his pants on stage, utilizing an unorthodox approach that centers around an Echoplex Digital Pro looping unit, which allows Keller to alternate between several instruments on stage.

Keller Williams’ Current Tour Dates:
Friday, April 16 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver BC
Sunday, April 18 World Ski Festival Whistler BC
Thursday, April 22 WorkPlay Theatre Birmingham AL
Friday, April 23 Floyd’s Tallahassee FL
Saturday, April 24 Freebird Live Jacksonville FL
Friday, April 30 Handle Bar Greenville SC
Thursday, May 13 Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Richmond VA
Sunday, May 16 The Hangout Music Festival Gulf Shores AL
Saturday, May 22 SmileFest – Deerfields Amphitheater Pinnacle NC
Friday, May 28 Bella Madre Music Festival Geneva MN
Saturday, May 29 Summercamp Chillicothe IL
Sunday, May 30 Delfest Cumberland MD Keller Williams and Friends
featuring Jeff Austin and Keith Moseley
Thursday, June 17 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Telluride CO
Saturday, June 19 Clearwater Festival – Croton Point Park Westchester NY
Friday, July 2 Nateva Music & Arts Festival – Oxford Fairgrounds Oxford ME
Sunday, July 11 All Good Music Festival Masontown WV
Saturday, July 17 YMSB String Summit North Plains OR RHYTHM DEVILS
Sunday, July 18 Britt Festival Jacksonville OR RHYTHM DEVILS
Saturday, July 24 The Spud Drive In Driggs ID RHYTHM DEVILS
Sunday, July 25 Red Butte Garden Salt Lake City UT RHYTHM DEVILS
Saturday, July 31 Gathering of the Vibes Bridgeport CT RHYTHM DEVILS
Saturday, August 14 Mile High Music and Arts Festival Denver CO
Saturday, August 21 Hoxeyville Festival Cadillac MI

http://www.kellerwilliams.net
http://www.myspace.com/kellerwilliams

Pretty Lights Tour Dates

It’s been an incredible year and half for Colorado-based producer and Pretty Lights mastermind Derek Vincent Smith. Starting out in 2008 performing in small clubs in his home state, Pretty Lights is now selling out 1000+ venues across the country, and was named one of NPR’s recommended acts for last month’s WMC (you can check out the piece here.)

Pretty Lights has now announced its biggest headline show to date, returning to his hometown on August 8, 2010, to headline the famed Red Rocks. Tickets on sale April 24^th at 10am MST.

Wondering what all the fuss is about? Check out Pretty Lights at Coachella this weekend. Or catch a show at numerous soon to be sold out venues across the country. With soulful organic vinyl samples on top of bass heavy electro beats, Pretty Lights lands somewhere between DJ Shadow and Daft Punk. But what sets him apart is his ambitious live setup that includes the addition of Cory Eberhard on drums and stunning visuals, making his live performances the stuff of legend.

PRETTY LIGHTS TOUR DATES

Apr. 13	Wilma Theatre	Missoula, Montana
Apr. 14	Roseland Theatre	Portland, Oregon
Apr. 15	Mezzanine	San Francisco, California
Apr. 17	Coachella Festival	Indio, California
Apr. 19	Marquee Theatre	Tempe, Arizona
Apr. 20	Rialto Theatre	Tucson, Arizona
Apr. 21	El Rey Theatre	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Apr. 23	Fayetteville Towncenter	Fayetteville, Arkansas
Apr. 24	Blue Note	Columbia, Missouri
Apr. 25	Liberty Hall	Lawrence, Kansas
Apr. 28	Granada Theatre	Dallas, Texas
Apr. 29	The Ballroom @ Warehouse Live	Houston, Texas
Apr. 30	Republic	New Orleans, Louisiana
May 01	Illumination @ Limelight	Nashville, Tennessee
May 28	Bourbon Theatre	Lincoln, Nebraska
May 29	Summer Camp Music Festival	Chilicothe, Illinois
May 30	Bella Music Festival	Geneva, Minnesota
May 31	Movement	Detroit, Michigan
Jun. 02	Water St Music Hall	Rochester, New York
Jun. 03	Calvin Theater	Northampton, Massachusetts
Jun. 04	Revelation @ Terminal 5	New York, New York
Jun. 05	Starscape Festival	Baltimore, Maryland
Jul. 15	Camp Bisco	Mariaville, New York
Jul. 29	Wanderlust Festival	Squaw Valley, California
Aug. 07	Red Rocks Amphitheater	Morrison, Colorado

Airbourne – No Guts. No Glory. (8.4/10)

Simply said, Airbourne rocks.  No Guts. No Glory. is fist pumping, feet stomping, beer swilling music of power and glory.  Sure, it’s unmistakable how much their music emulates their fellow Aussie mates, AC/DC.  Grab yourself a copy of No Guts. No Glory. Your fist will be pumpin’ by the first chorus.  Great listening.

Airbourne – No Guts. No Glory. (8.4/10)

Simply said, Airbourne rocks.  No Guts. No Glory. is fist pumping, feet stomping, beer swilling music of power and glory.  Sure, it’s unmistakable how much their music emulates their fellow Aussie mates, AC/DC.  If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then AC/DC must be damn flattered, because Airbourne is a pure carbon copy.

It’s difficult to react objectively to Airbourne’s music, as one can’t get away from the AC/DC references.  Is the music original?  Sure… To the point of the composed song.  Does it sound original?  Not even close.  Do they play infectious, raucous tunes?  Hell yeah.

Grab yourself a copy of No Guts. No Glory. Your fist will be pumpin’ by the first chorus.  Great listening. (And a bad ass album cover too!)

- Train

Related articles:

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• AIRBOURNE Interviewed By TOTAL ROCK Radio (idiomag.com)

Cypress Hill – Rise Up (6.8/10)

Rise Up.  It’s no Black Sunday.  Or even as exciting as Black Friday.  B. Real and Sen Dog still have the flow, but the classic Cypress Hill has long been put in the bong and smoked up.  The beats are OK, and there are standouts like the title track (which features Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda) which tears it up, but also a ton of clunkers (i.e. Cypress’ take on Pass the Dutch(ie) which wanted me to stick a pencil in my ear).

Cypress Hill – Rise Up (6.8/10)

Rise Up.  It’s no Black Sunday.  Or even as exciting as Black Friday.  B. Real and Sen Dog still have the flow, but the classic Cypress Hill has long been put in the bong and smoked up.  The beats are OK, and there are standouts like the title track (which features Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda) which tears it up, but also a ton of clunkers (i.e. Cypress’ take on Pass the Dutch(ie) which wanted me to stick a pencil in my ear).

All bands take creative progressions through time, and Cypress had to deal with working from the top and going from there.  I think they needed to fill that huge Buddha bong with about 2 lbs more of Ganj before they recorded and put out this album.

Oi.

- Moe

Related articles:

• Cypress Hill Exhibited Metal Cred 17 Years Before New Album (noisecreep.com)
• LISTEN: Cypress Hill Featuring Linkin Park’s Shinoda (spin.com)
• Tom Morello Guests on New Cypress Hill Jam (idiomag.com)

Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame (8.6/10)

Suggested listening: Shame, Shame will serve as fantastic summer-driving music; windows all the way down with the warm breeze fluttering your hair around.

Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame (8.6 out of 10)

One of the best albums of 2K10 so far!  A mellow blend of folk, indie rock, and garage band which rouses reflections of the Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire.  Startlingly, it’s a coming out party from the most unlikely locale, good ol’ Philly baby!  I’m embarrassed that these hometown heroes have eluded me for so long.  Suggested listening: Shame, Shame will serve as fantastic summer-driving music; windows all the way down with the warm breeze fluttering your hair around.

Related articles:

• Hear Dr. Dog’s New “Stranger” From April LP “Shame, Shame” (rollingstone.com)
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Usher – Raymond vs Raymond (6.9/10)

To be fair, Raymond v Raymond never claims to be something it’s not; it simply strives to be a top five Billboard album, which it will be.  Its chalk full of cheesy ballads and sweet-sweet love-making music, but that can be fun sometimes.

Usher – Raymond v Raymond (6.9 out of 10)

There’s a difference between an entertainer and an artist.  Usher is undeniably a really good performer and singer, artist not so much.  To be fair, Raymond v Raymond never claims to be something it’s not; it simply strives to be a top five Billboard album, which it will be.  Its chalk full of cheesy ballads and sweet-sweet love-making music, but that can be fun sometimes.

Stats: The word “baby” is used 61 times and the endearment “girl” is employed 66 times, yet the ever-dynamic “baby girl” is surprisingly utilized only once.  (Yes I actually counted)

Peak: OMG is a good time

Valley: The track Lil Freak contains quite possibly the worst rap verse of all time courtesy of Nicki Minaj: “I keep a couple of hoes, like Santa I keep a vixen.  I got that Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Dixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blisten.” …wow.

- B.

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