Face-melting concert photo

Jam Sessions   

Nightwatchman Distracted by Go-Go Dancer

Posted Mon, September 15, 2008 at 11:50 pm by Todd Levy

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The Nightwatchman w/ Perry & Etty Farrell

Song
Breakdown

Date
Thu, December 06, 2007

Venue
The Hotel Cafe

Location
Los Angeles, CA

A little while back I discovered Tom Morello's alter-ego and put up a video of The Nightwatchman doing Jailbreak with Slash. Well I was sleuthing around for some more from The Nightwatchman and came across this gem, a rather loose interpretation of Tom Petty's Breakdown.

Like other Nightwatchman appearances in LA from this timeframe, it's basically an all out jam session. This one features Perry Farrell on vocals, Flea on bass, Carl Restivo and Jonny Polonsky on guitar, Stella Mozgawa on drums, and an unidentified horn player.

Etty and Perry Farrell

But it doesn't really matter who's playing, I'm pretty sure you won't be watching any of them. Etty Farrell, Perry's wife, somehow manages to steal all the attention :)

What do you call that dance anyway?

The Triumphant Return of Trey at ROTHBURY, plus 3/4 Phish Reunion!

Posted Sun, July 06, 2008 at 4:14 pm by Todd Levy
Trey Anastasio at ROTHBURY

Photo by Katy Batdorff/
The Grand Rapids Press
(more pics)

Despite a few sit-ins over the last year and a half (see Trey with Phil & Friends and Trey with Robert Randolph for example) we haven't seen much from Trey Anastasio since his auspicious arrest in December of 2006.

But all of that was behind him on Sunday as Trey returned to the stage for a solo acoustic set on July 6th at the inaugural ROTHBURY Festival in Rothbury, Michigan.

Trey's ROTHBURY setlist included about a dozen Phish tunes, a Trey tune, and a GRAB tune. And as an added (though expected) bonus, Mike Gordon sat in for a few songs including two new ones — Backwards Down the Number Line and Alaska — though no official word on whether or not these are intended to be “Phish songs.” According to Trey he taught Mike both these of these songs to five minutes before the show.

You can download the entire Trey ROTHBURY set in lossless flac format on etree (Chris Davis and Col. George's Peluso cemc6/ck4 source | Nakguy's Milab VM-44 Link source) or you can download a lossy mp3 version of Trey's ROTHBURY set from mediafire. And stay tuned to this space for more concert videos from Trey's appearance at ROTHBURY.

UPDATE (July 6, 2008): After Trey's set, Mike had a set just a short distance away, and Trey returned the favor by joining Mike on stage (with a Stratocaster) for a jam and Meat. Then, just when you thought it couldn't get any better, there was a ¾ Phish reunion as Fishman joined Mike and Trey on stage for a cover of the Beatles song She Said, She Said!

Update (August 2nd, 2008): See our post about Trey's solo acoustic show at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.

Update (August 7th, 2008): See our post about Trey & Classic TAB at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

Update (August 10, 2008): See our post about Trey & Classic TAB at the All Points West Festival in New Jersey.

Update (September 11, 2008): Trey's going on an eight show Fall Tour with Classic TAB band mates Russ Lawton, Tony Markellis and Ray Paczkowski. Search for Trey Anastasio tickets right here on Jamtopia.

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The Nightwatchman Can’t Stop This Jailbreak

Posted Fri, February 01, 2008 at 8:59 am by Todd Levy

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The Nightwatchman w/ Slash and Alice in Chains

Song
Jailbreak

Date
Thu, December 13, 2007

Venue
The Hotel Cafe

Location
Los Angeles, CA

Tom Morello's acoustic-guitar-toting-folksinging-alter-ego The Nightwatchman was developed in 2003 as an opportunity for Morello to return to "politically-based" songs. You know, the type of songs with anti-this and anti-that messages he'd strayed from since Audioslave emerged out of Rage Against the Machine's ashes in 2001

Ironically or perhaps even hypocritically, Morello released his Nightwatchman solo album One Man Revolution on Epic Records / Sony BMG. So much for being anti-corporate.

In any case, from this blog's perspective, The Nightwatchman is actually a better vehicle for kick-ass impromptu jam sessions than for political change.

Witness this sublime example. It's The Nightwatchman joined by Slash and the current lineup of Alice in Chains for a loose rendition of Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak.

It's not the best sound or video quality, but it's a rare assemblage of musicians having a good time jamming with each other, and it's hard to complain about that. I also love the way William DuVall spends most of the song eye-humping Slash's guitar work. It's hard to tell if he's just trying to pick up the song or steal Slash's licks.

Jailbreak originally appeared on the creatively titled Thin Lizzy album Jailbreak. Alice in Chains reportedly have a new studio album coming in 2008 — their first since 1995. And unless you've been in a cave or simply don't watch Montel, Slash's biography is now in stores.

Unlikely Duo: Jerry Garcia and Sammy Hagar

Posted Fri, September 28, 2007 at 2:53 pm by Todd Levy

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Jerry Garcia, Sammy Hagar, Jeffery Burton, Annie Sampson, Sean Hooper, Pete Sears, Scott Matthews

Song
Going Down

Date
April 1989

Venue
Sweetwater Saloon

Location
Mill Valley, CA, USA

UPDATE: Sadly, the Going Down video is NO LONGER AVAILABLE on YouTube. I'm trying desperately to find an alternate copy. In the mean time, please enjoy this rendition of Lieber & Stoller's Riot in Cell Block #9 from the same night but with a slightly different lineup.

Here's a real gem of a jam session, featuring the unlikely pairing of Jerry Garcia with Sammy Hagar doing blues mainstay Going Down at Sweetwater Saloon during a Village Music Record Store party.

Jerry Garcia warms it up with the song's opening bars for a few repetitions. Just as things started, Elvis Costello grabs his drink and bolts off stage. Jerry apparently didn't bring a guitar as he's playing Elvis's custom Fender Jazzmaster. It's no problem though, as one reviewer notes, "Jerry makes it sing!"

Hagar, on lead vocals, is skinnier and of course younger looking than the Hagar of today but cheeses it up just the same.

Jeffery Burton, son of James Burton, is on guitar. He has some spectacular hockey hair and equally spectacular licks about two-thirds into the jam. Annie Sampson provides powerful backup vocals. Sean Hooper of Huey Lewis and the News is on keys. Pete Sears lays it down nicely on bass and Scott Matthews rounds out the rhythm section on drums.

Sadly, Village Music Record Store closed in September 2007. Sweetwater Saloon closed briefly but will re-open in a new location.

And don't miss this great video of Freddy King doing a ripping live version of Going Down as written by Don Nix. The song is also available on The Best of the Shelter Years, a compilation album of King's earlier work.

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