Let’s face it – the best way to ring in the new year is shaking it down to some live music. All across the country, bands and fans celebrated the end of 2014 in style. Here’s our round-up of last night’s festivities:
PhilRAD Serenades The Capitol Theatre
Playing the third night of a three night run at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre, Phil Lesh and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead delivered a staggering performance to usher in 2015. The three-set performance was filled with traditional Dead music, with excellent versions of “Scarlet Begonias,” “Fire on the Mountain,” and, to start the new year: “Uncle John’s Band.” The band also celebrated guitarist Tom Hamilton’s birthday! Here’s the setlist:
Set I: Golden Road > Viola Lee Blues > Cumberland Blues > Viola Lee Blues > Hell In A Bucket > Viola Lee Blues
Set II: Playin In The Band > Ramble On Rose, Music Never Stopped > Unbroken Chain, Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Happy Birthday (to Tom Hamilton)
Set III: Uncle John’s Band, Space, Let It Grow, Birdsong, Not Fade Away
[Via Philzone.org]
Moe. Celebrates With Fa-moe.ly
Moe. celebrated the New Year in their home turf, delivering a staggering three set performance at the Palace Theatre in Albany, NY. The show featured a number of songs with the Conehead Buddha Horn Section, and also included a version “Happy Hour Hero” with the children of moe. members. The jam band brought 2015 to a start with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Stone Free,” their first time playing the tune.
I: Low Bridge#, Queen Of Everything, Smoke >(nh) Chromatic Nightmare, Shoot First, White Lightning Turpentine, Waiting For The Punchline
II: Downward Facing Dog, Billy Goat > Bullet > Silver Sun, Ugly American*##, My Old School*%, Same Old Story*, Happy Hour Hero*^$
III: Stone Free$%%, Time Ed > meat., Little Miss Cup Half Empty*, Annihilation Blues*, Dr. Graffenberg*
Enc: Time > Tubing The River Styx > The Pit
{First set acoustic
* w/ Conehead Buddha horn section: Shannon Lynch on saxophone, Terry Lynch on trumpet, Shaun Bazylewicz on trombone
^ w/ Marley Amico on sax, Madison Amico on percussion, Eddie Derhak on trumpet, Ayla Schnier on keys, Ben Schnier on drums
$ w/ Peter Prince on guitar & vox
# FTP – (cover – traditional / Thomas S. Allen)
## LTP – 7/15/10
% FTP – (cover – Steely Dan)
%% FTP – (cover – Jimi Hendrix)}
[Via Moe. Facebook]
Gov’t Mule Recruit Myles Kennedy For AC/DC Night At The Beacon
Celebrating their 20th anniversary, Gov’t Mule has been in a tribute mindset for a good portion of 2014. The band has released two archival collections, Stoned Side of the Mule and Dark Side of the Mule, both of which feature the band taking on another group’s material (The Stones and Pink Floyd, respectively). Last night, Mule rocked The Beacon Theatre with a set of AC/DC music, including rocking renditions of “Highway to Hell,” “Shoot To Thrill,” and an encore performance of “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock n Roll).”
Set 1:
No Reward, Scared to Live, Banks of the Deep End, Dolphineus > Painted Silver Light, Captured, Fool’s Moon, Politician > Fools Moon reprise, Time to Confess, Railroad Boy> Lay Your Burden Down, Kind of Bird, Bring On The Music
Set 2 (w/ Myles Kennedy):
Highway To Hell, Let There Be Rock, Sin City, Shoot to Thrill with Myles Kennedy, Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution, Girls Got Rhythm, Ride On> Night Prowler, T.N.T., Back in Black, Hell’s Bells, You Shook Me All Night Long> Problem Child, Beating Around The Bush, For Those About To Rock, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Whole Lotta Rosie
Encore: It’s a Long Way to The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)
[via Mule.net]
Umphrey’s McGee Keeps The Train Rolling In Atlanta
In the midst of their five-night run at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA, Umphrey’s McGee brought the house down for a spectacular New Years performance. The band mixed in a hearty helping of their new album, Similar Skin, with classic UM tunes and some groovy covers, with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horn section accompanying throughout the night. The band paid tribute to the late Joe Cocker with a first-set closing “Feelin’ Alright,” and also to their original drummer Mike Mirro with “Last Call.” Mirro passed away in early 2014.
Check out the setlist below, which includes Rolling Stones, Herbie Hancock, and James Brown covers:
Set 1: Nothing Too Fancy > All In Time > Cut the Cable, Mad Love, In The Kitchen, Piranhas[1], Feelin’ Alright[2]
Set 2: Puppet String[3] > Hang Up Your Hang Ups[4], August, 1348 > Day Nurse > Nothing Too Fancy, Black Messiah[3], Last Call[3], Bright Lights, Big City
Set 3: Bad Friday[3] > Auld Lang Syne[3], Honky Tonk Women[3], Ringo[3], Plunger > Puppet String, No Diablo, The Linear > All In Time
Encore: Similar Skin[3], Living In America[5]
[1] debut, original; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[2] debut, Traffic/Joe Cocker; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[3] with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[4] debut, Herbie Hancock; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[5] debut, James Brown; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
Notes:
Feelin’ Alright played for Joe Cocker
Last Call played for Mike Mirro
with (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult) tease before Plunger
last Black Messiah 12.31.2007 (779 shows)
last Last Call 12.14.2002 (1,471 shows)
[Via All Things Umphrey’s]
String Cheese Incident Keep Them Dancing In Colorado
String Cheese played a whopping NYE show, returning to the 1ST BANK Center in Broomfield, CO for the final night of a three-night run. The show included a good number of tunes from the band’s new album, Song In My Head, as well as a delightful mix of Cheesy classics and some hearty covers, including Led Zeppelin’s “Fool In The Rain” Paul Simon’s “Late In The Evening,” and The Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place.” They also brought out local singer Liza Oxnard for a take on Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration,” and brought out acrobats and circus performers during “Land’s End” and “Glory Chords” to usher in the New Year!
Set One: Black Clouds, Smile, Let’s Go Outside, Sweet Spot, Water > Kinky Reggae > On The Road
Set Two: Can’t Wait Another Day, Miss Brown’s Teahouse, Desert Dawn, I’m Still Here, Way Back Home > Fool In The Rain > Way Back Home > Jellyfish > Desert Dawn
Set Three: Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance, Land’s End, Glory Chords > Celebration w Liza > Rosie, Late In The Evening, Rivertrance, This Must Be The Place > Just One Story
Encore
Bollymunster, Good Times Around The Bend
[Via Friends of Cheese]
The Disco Biscuits Party In Times Square
Mere blocks from the most-hyped New Years Party of them all – the freezing cold ball drop in Times Square – the Disco Biscuits warmed up the Best Buy Theater with their third show in as many nights. The group kept themselves busy during the three-night run, playing shows and their own afterparties on the 29th and 30th. The three-set marathon performance included a fantastic setlist, and a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell.” Good times!
Set 1: 7-11> Reactor Ending > AC2B > Crystal Ball> AC2B
Set 2: Basis > The Thieving Magpie > Little Lai > 5th of Beethoven, NYE Countdown, The Bionic Helix > Great Abyss > The Bionic Helix
Set 3: Highwire> Abraxas > Highwire, 5th of Beethoven > Gangster > Run Like Hell > Basis For A Day
Encore: Once The Fiddler Paid
[Via PT]
Widespread Panic Celebrate A ‘Happy’ New Year
Widespread Panic delivered the goods to a packed house at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC, bringing out Randall Bramblet and the Megablasters for some brass accompaniment. Playing a beautiful show that included a trio of Bill Withers tunes (Lean on Me, Ain’t No Sunshine, Use Me Up), and a trio of “Happy” tunes (The Rolling Stones version, the WSP original, and the Pharrell tune) to usher in a “Happy” New Year, WSP fans were wholly satisfied with this awesome performance.
I: C. Brown, Space Wrangler, No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature, Ain’t Life Grand, Lean on Me*, Ain’t No Sunshine*, Use Me Up*
II: Disco, Pigeons, Henry Parsons Died, Greta, You Got Yours, Weight of the World*, Sharon*
III: Happy (Rolling Stones), Happy, Happy (Pharrell Williams), Porch Song > Blackout Blues > Cotton Was King > Climb to Safety > Stop Breaking Down Blues > Drums > Chilly Water > Pilgrims >Porch Song
E: High Time We Went, With A Little Help From My Friends
* = Randall Bramblet and The Megablasters
[Via Widespread Panic Facebook]
STS9 Jam Out In Denver
STS9 had an eventful 2014, with Alana Rocklin stepping in after longtime bassist David Murphy announced that he was leaving the band. By all accounts, Rocklin is doing the band justice, as STS9 continues to spread their jamtronica love around the country. Last night’s throwdown was held at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, CO, playing a lengthy show of original music to usher in the new year. Expect big things from STS9 in 2015!
SET I: Summit, Click Lang Echo > Moonsocket, New Dawn New Day > Move My Peeps > Kaya, Kabuki, Jebez*
SET II: Frequencies DnB > Frequencies Peace 2 > Frequencies Peace 3, Inspire Strikes Back > Countdown > Auld Lang Syne > Music, Us, Life’s Sweet Breath, March, Water Song, Scheme, Evasive Maneuvers > Potamus > Kamuy
ENCORE: Squares and Cubes > By The Morning Sun
*We’ll Meet In Our Dreams tease in Jebez
[Via STS9 Facebook]
Phish Bring Halloween, Flying Fishman To Miami
Coming off of a two month break, Phish opted to kick off their New Years run on the 31st, leaving some questioning whether the band would need some time to warm up during their annual celebration. After some tasty numbers early on, “Wolfman’s Brother” got the crowd really grooving. Later sets included performances of two songs from the band’s Halloween Chilling, Thrilling set, “Martian Monster” and the first song of 2015, “The Dogs.” The band’s New Years stunt included an a capella performance of “Dem Bones,” before Jon Fishman launched into a vacuum cleaner solo. When the vacuum got “stuck to his face,” prompting Mike to suggest switching the vacuum from suck to blow. This segued into a giant Fishman inflatable being launched over the crowd during the NYE balloon drop.
From a band that has hit their creative stride in the 3.0 era, expect many fun offerings over the band’s next three nights in Miami.
Set 1: Sample in a Jar, The Wedge, 555, Heavy Things, Wolfman’s Brother, Halfway to the Moon, Bouncing Around the Room, Kill Devil Falls, Train Song, Waiting All Night, Axilla, A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing
Set 2: Birds of a Feather, Ghost > Theme From the Bottom -> Cities > Chalk Dust Torture, Martian Monster
Set 3: Dem Bones[1] > Auld Lang Syne > The Dogs > Tweezer > Simple > Limb By Limb, Bug > Backwards Down the Number Line, The Horse > Silent in the Morning > Julius
Encore: Golgi Apparatus > Tweezer Reprise
[1] Phish debut; Fishman on vacuum.
Notes: This show was webcast via Live Phish. The Birds was teased during the jam out of Theme, then teased and quoted during Cities. The Phish debut of Dem Bones began acapella, then Fish moved to vacuum. The song was then stopped because, Trey said, the vacuum had become stuck to Fish’s face. Fish went behind the stage with Brian to fix the problem, and Mike suggested they switch it “from suck to blow.” There was the sound of a small explosion and the lights went out. A giant inflatable Fishman then emerged from behind the stage and took off over the crowd, while the balloon drop, including Henrietta donut balloons, occurred and the band played Auld Lang Syne.
[Via Phish.net]
Of course, these weren’t the only musical offerings on New Years Eve. A number of jam fans headed to Rock and Roll Resort to check out Turkuaz, Consider the Source, and many other talented musicians. Where were you when the ball dropped? Happy 2015!!