@AndyShore The first night of a three night run is tricky. The band needs to be careful not to blow their load too early, while not seeming like they’re holding back. Phish took night one at Festival 8 and did not only that, but so much more. I was left with my mind spinning, trying to figure out what they were going to do with six more sets. So excited for the possibilities.

The first set opened with “Party Time.” The perfect welcoming to a festival. The L’cha Dodi* of music festivals if you will. From there is was go time. “Chalkdust Torture” made way into an especially funky and groove-tastic “Moma Dance.” Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom I wasn’t even planning on crashing this one. I wanted to support Neiliyo. I try to pay for artists I know personally* and I desperately want Neiliyo to be successful. That said, natural instincts kicked in. First, I went for the move I made up on my first Austin crash, the backdoor slider.

The backdoor to Mohawk opens up when someone exits for a cig or to make a phone call and it’s rarely guarded. I waited around for a couple minutes, seeing if anyone would exit, but I sensed the guy by the door worked there and decided to just pay the $10. I wanted to support Neiliyo. I really did. But you know me… Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Phish Festival 8 is upon us. Hopefully this will provide a guide to getting in with all your willies and your wares, have an educated guess at what the acoustic set and Phish costume will be like, and keep you updated with everything you could care to know about Phish Festival 8.

We’ve got a ton of Phish costume ideas you can put together last minute, thorough analysis of the music and constant updates from our Twitter friends and, starting Friday, @Andyshore on the scene reporting first hand. If you have something we should be reporting, comment here or Tweet @Phishfestival8. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert revealed the album artwork for his debut release, For Your Entertainment, this week. Yahoo! Music managing editor, Lyndsey Parker, blogged about the album cover yesterday. She loves the album cover, saying, “I adore this cover’s absolutely fabulous retro vibe. (It looks so much like a beauty shot snapped by Andy Warhol in some glitter-dusted private party room at Studio 54, I can almost imagine Bianca Jagger riding a white horse in the background; what’s not to like?)” Despite very eloquently painting a picture of the scenario, Parker also sees the humor in the situation. She likened the album cover to that of an alternate version for the soundtrack of Xanadu.

There are only two reasonable explanations as to how this album cover came to fruition. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Seeing Neiliyo in Austin these days is like being in Pittsburgh in 2002 seeing Girl Talk. He’s way ahead of his time, has an unmatched energy and is doing it harder and better than anyone in his genre. If there really is anyone in his genre. He plays his backing tracks recorded in his home studio, loaded onto his iPod and sings, dances in the crowd, and slays his electric guitar for a full-on rock dance party. There’s only one Neiliyo. Except tonight. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom For the first time in over 20 years of touring, Phish is playing an all acoustic set Sunday at noon. Curious minds want to know: What are they gonna play? Will it be the acoustic songs we know well or will Trey re-work some typically electric songs?

As magical as Trey is sending shivers down your spine on electric, there’s something comforting about an entire acoustic set. Especially for a noon on Sunday after a weekend of raging. Let’s just hope Trey will be half as happy as he looked on acoustic last summer at Rothbury. Here’s a “Sample…” Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom An article on Cover Bands originally for FLYP Media that never ran. Since I’ve been in Phish album cover mode all week, I figured I’d let you read it.

“People would sooner pay $10 to see four guys pretending to be KISS than $5 to see four guys playing original songs nobody had ever heard before.” –Chuck Klosterman from his essay “Appetite for Replication” in Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom We’re down to the final countdown and Phish 8 festival goers have started packing already. They’re getting their costumes together as Phish gets closer and closer to unveiling their musical costume. Wouldn’t it be cruel if they bring an album back to life or pick one that hasn’t been nominated at all? It’s fun to guess anyway. Here’s the last 15 remaining with a ranking from least to most likely. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom There are four faces a first-time crasher makes on their crash. It reminds me of the faces I’d make when my dad would take me to Cubs games and we’d get closer and closer to game time and still not have scalped cheap enough tickets for my dad to buy them. @RayRay849 made them all as I took her on her first crash last night at Antone’s for a sold out show by the Dirty Projectors.

Face #1 is eager, cautious optimism. The opening band isn’t on yet. No obstacles have given you a reason to worry. It’s all potential. Thankfully, we had a woman on the inside last night. @Den_mom proved herself to be the best at giving her location at ACL. No matter how deep she was in the crowd, she’d give a spot-on description of her location (next to the pirate flag, 5th row, even with the right speaker) that made her impossible to miss. You want her on the inside. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom “It has to be him. No one else is that ugly” @supercooleric said as we spent far too long debating whether it really was Ron Jeremy up in the VIP at the Dirty Projectors show. The balding, “hedgehog” head, the gut, the ’stache, the fact that he was surrounded by women. I was still skeptical. Once people started taking pictures of him, it was hard to argue.

During the show he looked like he was working on his Weekend at Bernie’s impression for Halloween. Arms crossed, mostly asleep, he looked like death. When he was awake, he looked at the band, seemingly thinking:

“None of the chicks in this band are bang-able. Should I offer to buy them some tits? Would they still sing that well with 9.75″ in their mouths? I bet they don’t shave.” Read the rest of this entry »