Reviews
Okay let's face it, Widespread Panic doesn't have the largest following in the city of Philadelphia. On the other hand, sometimes it's better to see a great band in a place where the crowd is small. Such was the case on this July night at Festival Pier. This was the last show before their performance at the All Good Music Festival the next day.
"The time has come for you to be alive again!" shouts singer/songwriter/guitarist Trey Anastasio during a ripping rendition of "Alive Again" from his latest live release, Original Boardwalk Style (Rubber Jungle Records). The time has definitely come for Trey to be alive again, since he has just completed his one year court-ordered drug treatment program, and is gearing up to hit the road for a handful of solo performances before staging what is sure to be a grand fall tour.
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With more than just crowd pleasers at Seattle's WaMu Theater, Gov't Mule and Ratdog co-headlined a fine show! Arguably an unlikely tour duo, Bob Weir and Warren Haynes delighted Seattle with this second stop on their Summer tour.
Here are just a couple highlights I took home from the industrial, cavernous, nouveau concert hall:
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"Excuse me sir, can I help you find something?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Well which seats are you supposed to be in?"
"Seats? What do you mean?"
"This is the reserved seating section, you have to have a special ticket to sit down here."
"Oh, no problem. I'm not going to sit, I'm here to take pictures of the band."
Anyone out there who might have read any of my previous Grateful Web publications, and I'm hoping there is at least one of you out there, may have noticed my slight fetish for Led Zeppelin references, analogies, and generalized words of praise. What can I say, I love the classics.
If you have never gone on tour with your favorite band into the southeastern corner of our fine nation, you are missing out. Patchwork skirts are replaced by sundresses. Patchouli and dope are replaced by Old Spice and cigarettes. And syncopated dancing with eyes closed is replaced by fists in the air and raucous sing-alongs.
There are vast depths to singer/songwriter Steve Earle. Not only is he one of the best creative writers in music, having received thirteen Grammy nominations and winning two for Best Contemporary Folk Album, but he writes soundtracks for movies and television (P.S. I Love You, Brokeback Mountain, Pay It Forward, The Horse Whisperer, G.I.
