Fans lined up well before the gates opened at the Vina Robles Amphitheater as a beautiful fall sunset painted the sky in myriad colors, Sunday, October 15th in Paso Robles. Arguably the best live music venue in California, the new amphitheater holds about 3000 people. There isn’t a bad seat in the house with a lawn section in the back, nearly as popular with patrons as front row tickets.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead isn't much of a secret at this point; over the course of the last couple years they have confidently taken the throne as the pre-eminent Dead cover outfit, an ascension that seemed to culminate with their headlining Red Rocks show this past August.

When Thundercat last played New York the show came on the heels of the release of his excellent album Drunk, saw guest appearances from comedians Dave Chappelle  and Hannibal Buress along with pianist and record producer Robert Glasper, and left just about everyone in the room scraping up their jaw from the floor by the end of things.

On October 13th, Round Records will release a special reissue of Jerry Garcia Band’s classic album Cats Under The Stars. In celebration of the 40th anniversary since the album’s recording, two vinyl configurations will be released - a limited edition pressing of 5,000 marbled gold 180gram vinyl with individually numbered foil-stamped packaging and a 180gram black vinyl.

We don't get to choose when tragedy strikes. In a rough week for rock n roll, a reprieve sweet spot can be found in Old Shoe’s Country Home.  They play songs that would make Mr. Tom Petty proud with local hero flavor and solid licks to back it up. They have the willingness to not back down from playing the rock n roll that they appreciate, not just the trendy over-produced pop that is sure to sell records. The members of Old Shoe are not just respectful musicians but respectful fans of the music as well.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, not only are they full of funk and spunk, but they are also one of the fastest growing Jam Bands today. Promoting their new album “Pizazz”, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong kicked off their rather large tour at the Boulder Theater last night, October 6th. All of their fans, or as they like to call, their “Flock”, migrated into the theater for what they didn’t know was going to be one epic dance party.

There may be no band that has been more critically analyzed song by song and show by show than Phish. Phish phans are some of the most attuned and astute musical analysts in the music scene. Since my first show in December of 1996 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia to my 197th show at the closing of this summer tour at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, I have seen and heard such vastly differing opinions about nearly every show.

Langhorne Slim is one of those artists that really deserves to be bigger than he is. Everything about his show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom served as proof of that; he’s got the songs, he’s got the charisma, he’s got the sound, and god dammit does he have the stage presence. Granted, selling out the Bowery is no small feat, and it was more than apparent that his fans knew exactly what kind of musical force of nature they were witnessing.