Videos   

As I mentioned in my first post about Matt Rach, I just can't get enough of this kid. Well I dug through his archive and found this smokin' cover of Johnny B. Goode — recorded when he was just 16 years old.

As one YouTube reviewer notes, it's about 2 minutes of soloing on a 2 minute 45 second song, but I still think it rules-face. Come to think of it, I wish it were even longer!

Welcome to “The Somewhere Back in Time Capsule,” a compilation of 20+ years of great Iron Maiden videos that recreates the entire Somewhere Back in Time Tour setlist.

What's included is some of the most spectacular stuff we could find — from Long Beach to London, Brazil to Birmingham.

If you think there's a better alternative for any of the tracks, feel free to suggest a different version and we'll add it to the capsule if we agree.

Up the Irons!

Want more live Maiden? Shop for Iron Maiden Concert DVDs

Hey again. You may recall my first post about the Wilco Winter Residency. And if not, I hope you'll go back and give it a once-over.

Today I'm here to talk a bit about My Morning Jacket.

I once saw these guys open for Wilco. And what a night that was. On record these guys don't sound near as loud or mind blowing as they do on stage. Not to say they're not good on record. It's just that on stage, they are complete beasts.

The clip above is one of my all-time favorites, “One Big Holiday.” There are plenty of great videos of this tune, but this one has a good combination of video and sound quality, plus a nice long jam if that's your thing.

If you haven’t yet been exposed to MMJ, well, just check them out when they come through town (assuming you can score tickets before the inevitable sell-out). There's a reason they've moved up from the festival side stages to headliners the last couple of years — it's because they “melt faces,” so to speak.

Props to CoolLikeMiles for sharing this video.

One Big Holiday originally appeared on My Morning Jacket's third studio album, It Still Moves from 2003. It's also on their 2006 live album Okonokos

Bonus Video: Mahgeetah from 2003 at the Mercury in Austin

Part 2: You Enjoy Myself (continued)

Welcome to Vol. 3 of Face-Melting Kids, our semi-regular series on child prodigies who rock.

This is just brilliant. Departure, a group of 17 year-old kids from Atlanta, bust-out a 15 minute rendition of You Enjoy Myself at their High School for Homecoming 2007. And it's pretty spot-on, complete with trampolines, vocal jam, the works.

It's also a nice tribute to Phish if you ask me, considering these guys were only 13 when they disbanded.

Keep up the great work fellas!

You Enjoy Myself appears on Phish's Live at MSG New Year's Eve 1995 disc.

See more child prodigies like Departure right here on Jamtopia.

Welcome to Vol. 2 of Face-Melting Kids, our semi-regular series on child prodigies who rock.

Matt Ratch isn't just a face-melting kid, or a great guitar player. He's a one-man-power-trio and prog-rock tour de force, all at the ripe age of 17.

Don't let the first few seconds fool you, where you think he might just be a goofball playing air-guitar on a guitar case. The video above is the real deal, with Matt playing guitar as well as drums and bass on an original tune that at times seems to channel Dream Theatre's Contstant Motion and Muse's Stockholm Syndrome.

I'm 14 and i feel as if you are setting a new benchmark for us younger players to try and reach.
— aarenhealy

Best of all, he's got charisma to back up his chops. He works the camera. He makes absurd faces. Basically he rocks.

If you're like me and just can't get enough of this kid, you can keep up with him on his MattRachGuitar MySpace page.

And if you want to rock like Matt, please see my Rock Band How-to Video post for some pointers to get you started.

See more child prodigies like Matt right here on Jamtopia.

There's really only one criteria for submitting a video to Jamtopia. It needs to “melt your face.” But that phrase, like music itself, is subjective.

What does “melt your face” mean?

I remember a certain Grateful Dead show in 1994 that certainly melted my face. It also seemed to melt my legs right into the bleachers.

But now, years later, I don't look for music to necessarily “melt my face” quite like that.

Today for me, face-melting comes down to really good music that makes your body and mind go “whoa” or “holy shit!” or simply “I can't believe how good this is!”

Which brings me to the first band I'm writing about here on Jamtopia, Wilco.

We all know the Wilco story. Born from the break-up of Uncle Tupelo, they've evolved from a simple, beloved alt-country band to probably the best, most revered American band alive today.

And they've now got the musical chops to cross about any genre at any time during any show. For evidence, look no further than their recent “Winter Residency” at the Riv in Chicago where they covered every song they've ever recorded over a five night stand.

Their music expands to new territories when they play it live — though the records are good too — and they've got songs. Songs that will be played years from now on acoustic guitars, in bars, at open-mic nights, on patios and porches, on i-pods and so on.

Lucky for us, they also melt faces.

Thanks to impino26 for posting this video.

Impossible Germany and other Wilco tunes can be found on the album Sky Blue Sky.

Bonus Video: Red-Eyed and Blue / I Got You

Here's another great video from night two of Wilco's “Winter Residency” concerts at Riviera Theatre.