The Isle of Wight

The most famous of the original three Isle of Wight Festivals ended on this date in 1970. Over the course of three days a crazily diverse who's who of that era's best bands played, including Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, The Doors, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Free, Gilberto Gil, Hawkwind, Jethro Tull, Kris Kristofferson, Moody Blues, Supertramp (!), Sly & the Family Stone, The Who and of course Jimi Hendrix. And probably double that number of acts...The Who are largely considered to be the highlight of the festival but I couldn't pass up posting this segment of Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox wailing on "Machine Gun", one of my favorite late-period Hendrix pieces...

It was forty years ago today...

...the Beatles played their final concert as a touring band at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, ending the show with their version of Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally".

Of course the band went on to achieve a few more milestones over the subsequent four years...It has been said many times by people a lot more eloquent than I am but it is just mind-boggling that the music encompassing Revolver thru Let it Be was released in a span of four years (and even more amazing when you consider that they were effectively finished with the recording of Let it Be in 1969). Oh and the oldest of them was 30 and the youngest 27 in 1970...

It will be interesting to see what kind of crazy stuff EMI has planned for the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's next year...They've managed to find some fun things to do with Pet Sounds, a record they have repackaged and reissued to death, so hopefully we can count on some cool goodies...

way-back machine v25: The Stooges

...at Roseland Ballroom in New York City on this date in 2003...

So, so fortunate to have seen this show...Having never seen Iggy before, seeing him with The Stooges was the way to do it.

This was the original line-up except for bass duties, which were handled by indie superstar Mike Watt.

Iggy was over the top. This show rocked my world. I was literally pogo-ing up and down in place the whole time. Iggy climbed the rafters, attacked the VIP section, taunted security, dragged people up on stage and kicked it out.

I know there is a live DVD from the reunion tour, their "homecoming" to Detroit which appears to have gotten good reviews. The quality on the audience recording I am pulling today's MP3 from is good enough to take me right back, I hope its good enough to give you a sense of how wild it was.

The Stooges, Dirt
from Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, August 27, 2003

way-back machine v24: Neil Young and Crazy Horse

...at the New Haven Coliseum on this date in 1987...

1987 was a fun summer of live shows for me...Neil and the Horse, CSN later that same week, Boston, Grateful Dead, Ace Frehley, Roger Waters...and that was just July / August / September. Good times...

This was my first Neil show and when I go back and listen to it I have to say its not just the nostalgia talking...this show was phenomenal. It was a tour he did with Crazy Horse right before "This Note's For You" came out and they played some of the new songs (and drag out Ben Keith and Larry Cragg on saxes for them) which sound terrific, better than the record turned out. And he just rips through his song book. While you listen to the MP3 check out the link below to dig the setlist.

Enjoy.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Down by the River
from Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT, August 27, 1987

way-back machine v23: Van Halen

...at the New Haven Coliseum on this date in 1986...

OK, it was actually Van Hagar but what can you do? It still blows my mind that this version of VH sold more records and played to more people than the original band.

Goddam, 20 years ago...anyway, this show wasn't half-bad, though what I remember more than anything else was that Bachman-Turner Overdrive was the opening act - three incredibly large dudes - and that their tour shirt said something like "2,000 pounds of rock and roll". Ha.

There is a live DVD from this tour that I always thought was recorded at this show but now I can't remember.

Van Halen, Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
from Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT, August 27, 1986.

Gene Simmons is 57 years old!

Yeah, ok, he is an idiot, but that hardly makes him unique as a rock star!

Let's celebrate all things idiotic about Gene, on this, his 57th birthday by focusing on this particular episode we found in his Wikipedia entry, under "Other Media Appearances"...

"A February 4, 2002 interview on the NPR radio show Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Gene Simmons at one point said to Gross, "If you want to welcome me with open arms, I'm afraid you're also going to have to welcome me with open legs," to which Gross replied, "That's a really obnoxious thing to say." Filled with similar unpleasant responses from Simmons, he refused to grant permission for the interview to be made available online at NPR. However, some unauthorized transcripts are available."

And here are two:

Transcript of Gene Simmons and Terry Gross, host of NPR's Fresh Air. Originally broadcast on February 4th, 2002

and the audio files: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.

And just to prove there is just enough adolescent left in me, here's my favorite part of the exchange:

"Terry Gross: Um, just one more question before we wrap up.

Gene Simmons: As many as you want.

Terry Gross: I would like to think that the personality you've presented on our show today is a persona that you've affected as a member of KISS, something you do on stage, before the microphone, but that you're not nearly as obnoxious in the privacy of your own home or when you're having dinner with friends.

Gene Simmons: Fair enough. And I'd like to think that the boring lady who's talking to me now is a lot sexier and more interesting than the one who's doing NPR. You know, studious and reserved, and -- I bet you're a lot of fun at a party."

Ha. Happy Birthday, Gene.

Mariah Carey in NYC

Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, August 23, 2006.

OK, OK, I went for work...but I would be lying of I said it wasn't entertaining...

Here is the setlist from Mariah's site's coverage of the show:

ACT 1
IT'S LIKE THAT
HEARTBREAKER
DREAMLOVER
MY ALL
SHAKE IT OFF

DJ MOMENT 1 - OLD SCHOOL CUTS- 3 MINUTES (MARIAH CHANGE 1)

ACT 2
VISION OF LOVE
FLY LIKE A BIRD
I'LL BE THERE
TREY MEDLEY- 5 MINUTES (MARIAH CHANGE 2)
ODB Segments - 30 secs

ACT 3
FANTASY
DON'T FORGET ABOUT US
ALWAYS BE MY BABY
HONEY

DJ MOMENT 2- HIP HOP CUTS- 3 MINUTES (MARIAH CHANGE 3)

ACT 4
I WISH YOU KNEW
THANK GOD I FOUND YOU REMIX
ONE SWEET DAY
HERO
MAKE IT HAPPEN (MARIAH CHANGE 4)

ENCORE
WE BELONG TOGETHER
BUTTERFLY REPRISE

RIP: Culture's Joseph Hill

Joseph Hill, lead singer of reggae legends Culture, passed away suddenly while in Berlin, Germany on the band's current European tour.

There is an informative and comprehensive obituary from the Jamaica Observer here. I am not going to come up with anything better than that so I'll just take a moment to say that it is sometimes tough being a music fan of a certain age...seeing the artists you love and admire get older, wondering who's next. The coming 5 - 10 years are going to be particularly tough as a lot of the greats go from their 50s and 60s to their 60s and 70s (and by the way, how frigging old is Willie Nelson at this point? That will be a huge loss).

So my message is a pretty simple one: don't take these cats for granted. Don't wait any longer, go see them while you can. A lot of these artists are playing clubs and theatres these days, even some of the big guys. I saw Culture in a small club a few summers back and it was deep. Even seeing the Stones at Roseland in NY or the Tower Theatre in Philly...Dylan you can catch in a nice theatre...Hot Tuna, Paul Kantner, Burning Spear, etc etc. These are all important artists that don't require fighting your way through a stadium or festival field to see up close.

So anyway, I'll get off the soap box. Go see some live music and fire one up for Joseph Hill, his bandmates and his family. Sorry no MP3 today, I am not near my music collection...

Peace out.

way-back machine v22: Jorma Kaukonen and Blue Country Heart

...at the Museum of Television & Radio, New York, NY, on this date in 2002...

This show was broadcast live on the radio via WFUV and streamed live over their website. The band was Jorma on guitar, Cindy Cashdollar on dobro and Barry Mitterhof on mandolin. A beautiful recording of some sweet, sweet music.

For you:

Jorma Kaukonen and Blue Country Heart, Good Shepherd
from, Museum of Television & Radio, New York, NY, August 21, 2002

way-back machine v21: Neil Young & Crazy Horse

...at Great Woods Performing Arts Center, Mansfield, MA on this date in 1996...

Something about seeing Neil and the Horse at Great Woods...Maybe its just me and my love for the venue but it seems like they throw it down in a whole different way up there...this show was no exception...there were some serious heavy jams pushed out by these guys and Neil was over the top, very trance-like...several of his mid-90s songs were highlights, too: Big Time, Slip Away, but the Like a Hurricane and Cortez the Killer were exceptional.

Here ya go:

Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Cortez the Killer
from, Great Woods Performing Arts Center, Mansfield, MA, August 21, 1996

Burning Dervish Amazon Store

Amazon's giving sites like this one a fun way to feature products that our visitors might be interested in and make a little scratch in the process.

The Burning Dervish Amazon Store lets us set up a little mini-Amazon store on our site. We're using it to feature CDs, DVDs, books and magazines related to the posts on our site.

If you're inclined to shop through our link we'll make a couple of percent which will go toward server bills and such.

Check it out. Thanks.

Ginger Baker

Now here's a guy who has had a career...Ginger Baker, who was born this day in 1939..he shares a birthday with Gene Roddenbery, except Gene was already 18 when Ginger was first in nappies...

Ginger's run would have been noteworthy enough had it ended when Cream's did in 1968...but he kept making music, from Blind Faith, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Baker Gurvitz Army, Ginger Baker's Energy, Ginger Baker Trio (with bassist Charlie Hayden and Bill Frissell on guitar) to Hawkwind, Atomic Rooster, Public Image Ltd, and Masters of Reality. Oh yeah, and the records under his own name...And after all that, the Cream reunion shows of the last few years. Nothing like finishing what you started...Dig a list of his projects here.

Happy Birthday, Ginger!

Ginger Baker, Satou
from Horses and Trees

Burning Dervish Art.com Store

Art.com is giving sites like this one a fun way to feature products that our visitors might be interested in and make a little scratch in the process.

The Burning Dervish Art.com Store lets us set up a little mini-Art.com store on our site. We're using it to feature posters, photos and wall art related to the posts on our site.

If you're inclined to shop through our link we'll make a couple of percent which will go toward server bills and such.

Check it out. Thanks.

way-back machine v20: King Crimson

...at the Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford, CT, on this date in 1996...

King Crimson were one of the mainstage acts at this stop on the H.O.R.D.E tour, which also included Rusted Root, Blues Traveler and Lenny Kravitz. If not for Crimson and the nice weather this show would have been a total waste of a day.

What an amazing set they kicked out. The line-up was a six-piece, but really it was two trios: Pat Mastelotto and Bill Bruford as drummers, Adrien Belew and Robert Fripp on guitars, two bass players - Tony Levin and Trey Gunn. The double trios would play together, off each other against each other, around each other and every other which way. It was heavy.

Dig it for yourself...

King Crimson, Dinosaur
from Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford, CT, August 17, 2006

Radiodread

We received a dispatch from the crew at Easy Star Records alerting us to a big new release they have hitting the streets featuring the East Star All-Stars on August 22...Radiodread, "The Complete Reggae Version of Radiohead's OK Computer".

If you harbour even a hint of skepticism, we are armed and ready to convince you that you need to score this one...first, why listen to what I say? Jeff Tamarkin (who has managed to write authoritatively on topics from the Jefferson Airplane to regional music from all over the world) over at the All Music Guide gushes, "It couldn't have been easy, but the All-Stars make it sound so. Each tune is reconsidered on its own terms...". Second, have a look at some of the cats Easy Star recruited to lend their talents. I just won't be convinced that Sugar Minott, Horace Andy or Toots and Maytalls would be involved if this thing weren't deep...

Still need more? There is a pretty cool e-card available streaming some of the tracks. Even better, you can get a taste for less than a buck at iTunes by downloading "Let Down" featuring the aforementioned Toots and the Maytals.

One other thing, they are throwing a record release party in Manhattan next week, on Thursday, August 24th, from 7-10 pm at Kush Lounge, 191 Chrystie St (between Rivington and Stanton). Go show some love.

Pre-ordering the record this week will impact first week's sales numbers and the higher those are, the mo