Posted Mon, January 05, 2009 at 2:20 pm by Todd Levy
At risk of prematurely jumping on the Phish tour date rumors bandwagon, I have it on good authority that Phish will play two nights at Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin on June 26 - 27, 2009.
This is one of my favorite venues of all time, not so much for the sound or lot scene, but more for all the great memories that have been created there.
Speaking of great memories, rooms at the unforgettable Alpine Valley Lodge are already filling up for the rumored Phish weekend (in fact, the suites are already gone!) so if you believe the dates, you might want to get on it.
More on this developing rumor as it becomes available.
P.S. I realize that these were part of the longer and presumably mostly fake list of dates that were posted on PT in the past. These are just the two dates I've got the most confidence in.
Comment 
Phish | Phish Reunion
Posted Wed, December 31, 2008 at 8:25 pm by Dan Buczaczer
Please welcome Dan Buczaczer to Jamtopia!
Dan Buczaczer's musical roots run deep. He's worked on a video with Lenny Kravitz, stood in a bathroom line with Fiona Apple, and even peed next to Elliott Smith. Dan recently put together this list of his picks for the 100 best songs of 2008, and he's graciously allowed me to feature it here. As we move into 2009 I'm hoping to expand Jamtopia's musical horizons a bit, so I'm extra thankful to Dan for this wonderfully diverse list. It's truly a step in the right direction.
The last two weeks of December are my favorite time of year but not because of the Christmas spirit and goodwill and peace towards all. It's because I love lists. Kind of to the point of obsession. Gripe all you want about the cheapening of journalism… tell me there's a list inside a magazine featuring the Top 10 or 40 of something and I'm probably breaking out my wallet. Why? Lists are fun. They instantly provide food for thought in the most simple design interface of all: a column of content in ranked order.
Covering the best singles instead of albums is a big step for me. Historically I've always sent around lists of my favorite records but the times are a-changin' and in an age where everything is available it's frankly much more fun to act like Girl Talk and just sample obsessively from everywhere.
Any list worth it's weight has criteria and caveats. Here are mine:
- This list is in reverse order because that is the only way to put together a list. Anyone who starts with #1 gets no joy out of life and isn't paying attention to whatever poet talked about the journey being at least as enjoyable as the destination (I may have butchered that).
- These are tracks, not singles. Why? Because radio is dead, as is MTV. I have no idea with most of these if they are singles or not. It's like knowing when your favorite TV show is on in the age of Tivo. Who cares?
- I only feature one song per artist because the list is much more interesting that way. No one wants a list with a surplus of tracks from one artist hogging the ranks. This is about appreciating the wide variety of great music in 08.
- These were all released in one form or another in 2008. A few are from albums in 2007 but were released as singles in 2008 (OK, so sometimes I know what songs are singles). The point is I bend the rules at will to make the list better. Work with me on this.
- If I'm wrong about the release date of something, direct your blogger hate at Wikipedia and Rhapsody, not me.
The list is below with links to every song. This took me far too much time to put together. If you have Rhapsody, you can listen to the complete playlist. Just know that the Rhapsody list is missing songs # 48, 58 and 59 so you'll have to revert to this post if you're a completist (and bravo if you are). Either way, set aside just under seven hours to make it through the list. And enjoy.
Comment Guest Bloggers | Music News
Posted Tue, December 30, 2008 at 1:44 am by Todd Levy
Billboard recently released their year in music charts for 2008 and it looks like some old favorites made some serious coin with their 2008 concert tours.
Here's the short version:
Worldwide concert dollars for 2008 were $4 billion, up almost 13% from 2007. Bon Jovi, Madonna, and The Police had the highest grossing tours of the year.
Interestingly, despite the uptick in earnings, worldwide attendance was basically flat and North American concert attendance was down nearly 2%. But more on that in a second.
First, let's take a look at the ten highest earning concert tours of 2008…
9 Eagles Long Road out of Eden Tour
$56,600,000
- * Also appeared on 2007 list
So in any case, how is it possible that concert tour earning are up and attendance is flat?
Simple. There were 6% fewer shows this year, but each one made more money. In the US, for example, the average box office gross for a single show was up 18% from last year, with a 6.3% bump in attendance.
Sounds like a double dose of weak-sauce for concertgoers like you and me.
For starters, you've got fewer choices in shows which can't be a good thing. And what shows remain are more crowded so you've got less room to rock out. Weak-sauce indeed.
Personally I'm thinking 2009 will be more of the same — but it sure would put a smile on my face to see Phish make the list!
P.S. Speaking of weak-sauce, concert tickets on the secondary market (often the only place you can buy them thanks in large part to professional concert ticket brokers) got more expensive in 2008. Learn more about that in our post about The Most Expensive Concert Tickets of 2008.
Comment Music News
Posted Mon, December 29, 2008 at 12:26 am by Todd Levy
If you've got a jones for some live music but you're stuck home or there just isn't anyone playing in town, sometimes a cold beer and a hot concert DVD will really hit the spot.
To bring your concert DVD collection up to date for the new year, you can't go wrong with any of the selections from the 12-pack below — Jamtopia's Best Concert DVDs of 2008. Plus, most of them are only about $15 so you'll still have some cash left over for a real 12-pack!
Two incredible Who concerts including a 1977 invite-only show in Kilburn, North London plus London Coliseum from '69. [blu-ray]
Scorsese captures the world's greatest rock & roll band and plenty of special guests at the Beacon Theatre in 2006. [blu-ray]
All the classics and a few rarities from Skynyrd at the 1996 Loreley Festival in Germany.
This two-night compilation from Rotterdam, Holland in 2007 combines classic Rush material and nine new songs, plus bonuses. [blu-ray]
Footage from Maiden's 4 night stand in Long Beach, CA at the end of the 1984-85 World Slavery Tour and a bonus documentary.
Over three hours of performances from the year-long Chaos In Motion World Tour plus behind-the-scenes documentary and more.
Comment Concert DVDs
Posted Sat, December 27, 2008 at 9:41 pm by Todd Levy
StubHub recently released their 2008 Concert Ticket Annual Report. It's an interesting look at concert ticket sales figures for 2008, though a bit skewed as it's based exclusively on StubHub data.
Here's the short version:
The average price of a concert ticket on StubHub in 2008 was $159, up $3 from 2007, with Madonna, The Eagles, and Billy Joel commanding the highest average ticket price.
My favorite part of the report is the upfront by Chuck La Vallee, Head of Music Business Development for StubHub. La Vallee echoes John Barlow a bit, noting that nothing can replace the experience of seeing live music.
Despite challenging economic times, StubHub buyers are willing to invest in the experience they get for the price of admission.
So just how much are people willing to pay for concert tickets? Glad you asked.
Here are the 10 acts with highest average concert tickets prices on StubHub for tours that sold over 10,000 total tickets in 2008:
- * Also appeared on 2007 list
Not suprisingly, most of the top 10 have been touring for over two decades, so they've got a multi-generational fanbase resulting in high demand and short supply for concert tickets.
And if you'll allow me to break out my crystal ball for a second, I've got a prediction for who will be at the top of the list next year. One word. Britney.
P.S. If you're still reading this, you might be interested in the 2007 StubHub Concert Ticket Annual Report and the 2006 StubHub Concert Ticket Annual Report.
Comment Concert Tickets | WGME
Posted Thu, December 18, 2008 at 11:27 am by Todd Levy
McLovins
Song
Guillotine Machine
Date
Sat, December 06, 2008
Location
Connecticut
Welcome to Vol. 6 of Face-Melting Kids, our semi-regular series on child prodigies who rock.
I love stories like this. On November 30th, power trio “Call Logan,” comprised of two high school sophomores and one middle-schooler from Connecticut, posted a great cover of You Enjoy Myself on YouTube.
Within a few days, the video made the rounds on countless Phish message boards and blogs, and there was universal agreement on two things.
First, these kids play damn well.
There is a level of musical maturity here that amazes the heck out of me.
— OldManAP
Second, and perhaps more importantly, the bass player looks like McLovin from Superbad! And on further inspection, the guitar player does too!
The band's new-found fans clamored for the band to change their name and pay homage to their duo of McLovin dopplegangers. Phantasy Tour and the comment thread on YouTube were lit up with pleas for the new name… McLovins.
In what I believe will turn out to be a brilliant marketing move, the band decided to oblige their fans, officially changing their name. And McLovins were born!
Now McLovins aim to please, you see, so they didn't stop at just a simple name change.
They followed it up with a few solid originals, one of which was entitled Purple Trees (PT) in honor of their new friends on Phantasy Tour. I'm not a huge fan of that tune, but I am a huge fan of one of the other originals, Guillotine Machine (watch it up above).
Guillotine Machine melts-face. It has a funky beginning, more than a few interesting transitions (like the one at 2:50 to 3:15), and it resolves into a total shredfest at the end.
I'd love to see McLovins add a keyboard player to round out their sound, but I think they'll be going places either way.
See more child prodigies like McLovins right here on Jamtopia.
Comment Face-melting Kids | McLovins | Videos
