Jam Central Station 11.28.09: Thanksgiving Special
Posted by Jeff Modzelewski on 11.28.2009
Come find out what I'm thankful for this year! Here's a hint, it's music related!
Welcome everyone to a special Thanksgiving edition of Jam Central Station. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving (or a great Thursday for my non-American readers). I was pretty bummed that all of the football games were crap, so I hope the college games this weekend are better.
I am going to get on my soapbox for a second on sports, if you don't mind. I'm not a huge college football fan, but I like it enough to have an opinion on the horrible BCS system. I enjoy watching a lot of the mid-major conferences, and I've been a fan of the MAC, WAC, and Boise State for quite a while. Boise State hasn't lost a game in 2 years, and there's a good chance that they'll be left out of a BCS bowl for a two-loss Oklahoma State team. That's insane. Yes, Boise State has a weak conference schedule, but they beat an Oregon team that's likely going to the Rose Bowl. Oklahoma State plays in a conference that is currently Texas plus 11 others, so I don't see how Oklahoma State being a two-loss Big 12 team gets them into a BCS bowl over an undefeated Boise State.
An even bigger BCS problem is highlighted this year, though. It's likely that there will be 5 undefeated Division 1-A teams this year: the SEC winner, Texas, Cincinnati, Boise State, and TCU. Any team that makes it through their season undefeated deserves a chance to play for a national championship. This is doubly true for a team from a BCS conference. I know that the Big East is probably the weakest BCS conference, but it's still an automatic bid conference. Cincy should be able to play for a national championship.
I'm not just going to complain and then not offer any solution. Here's your solution, and, yes, it's a playoff system. We need an 8-team playoff system. Here's how those 8 spots should be handed out. First, conference winners get priority. All 6 major conference winners get in. The other two spots could be handed out using a similar system to the current BCS ranking system with a couple of guidelines. Any non-major conference winner that had an undefeated season gets first access to a playoff spot. Second, Notre Dame gets in if they're ranked in the top 8. The playoffs would begin the second week of December. The rankings would determine the matchups (again using a BCS style system), and for the first round, the top 4 teams would get a home game. The first round losers would go on to play their regular bowl games, while the 4 winning teams would play the first week of the new year, and the championship game would be when it is now. We could preserve the current bowl system in a modified form, and still have an actual playoff system that puts the emphasis on winning your conference.
Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. It's time for my Thanksgiving column. For this week, I wanted to take a different direction and talk about a few things that I'm thankful for. It's Thanksgiving weekend, and I've had a pretty awesome year, music-wise. So I wanted to just go over a few things that make my life pretty awesome as far as music goes.
Jeff Coffin
There were a lot of questions about what was going to happen to the Dave Matthews Band after LeRoi Moore got injured and eventually died last summer. Coffin was familiar with the band, and had sat in with them on a number of occasions, but he's also been a key part of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones for a number of years. While Coffin is an accomplished sax player, the Flecktones play a very different style of music than DMB does. Jeff was the best choice as the initial fill-in guy, but there were a lot of questions about what the full-time solution would be, or even if there would be a replacement for Roi.
It became pretty clear at the end of last year that Jeff was going to be a long-term solution for the band. His work last summer was solid, and while he wasn't a carbon-copy of Roi, his style brought new elements to the band. What really solidified his place in the band was his fill-in work on the new DMB album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Much of the saxophone had already been recorded, and it was up to Jeff to fill in around what Roi had already recorded. Jeff was able to pull this off nearly seamlessly, and the album is considered by many fans the band's best work in over a decade.
Jeff has continued to tour with DMB this year, and their summer tour was a huge success. The band is showing new life and energy that they haven't had since the late 90's. I also want to recognize the contributions that Tim Reynolds and Rashawn Ross have brought to the touring band and to the album, but the most difficult and most important transition was made by Jeff, and without his amazing work, I don't know where DMB would be right now. So a big Jam Central Station "Thank You" to Jeff Coffin and the rest of the Dave Matthews Band for their amazing work and resilience this year.
Musical Surprises
One of the things that I love about music is the opportunity to discover something unexpected. I had a few of those this year. The first was the new album by Umphrey's McGee. Mantis is a great front-to-back album. UM has developed a reputation as an exciting improvisational live act. Their studio albums often consisted of songs the band had already debuted live. Mantis was a completely new album, not road-tested at all. It's diverse, it has some good hooks, and it's their most complete studio album to date. I wasn't expecting much, but Mantis is an album that really caught my attention this year.
Another big surprise for me was the performance that the String Cheese Incident put on at Rothbury. I tried to get into the band prior to Rothbury, but I wasn't that excited by their studio stuff. Their live performance was another story altogether. I didn't really recognize the songs, but they're the type of band that you don't need to be familiar with to enjoy live. They put on an extremely fun show, mixing a number of styles and keeping the crowd engaged. Add the fire dancers, curtain dancers, giant beach balls, and other performance elements, and you had the best performance in the two-year history of Rothbury.
There were some other great moments for me this year. The Dave Matthews Band provided a couple with the release of Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King and their live performances. I didn't get a Halloween this year, but I got a great, unexpected "Burning Down The House" and "You Never Know" at Deer Creek. Plus, seeing Jeff rock two saxophones at once was something special. I got another great show with Michael Franti and Spearhead. Finally, Alice in Chains put out a great new album, exceeding my expectations for a band that hadn't put out new material in over a decade. Overall, it was an fun and exciting year in music for me.
I was very excited about the opportunity to come back to 411mania with this column. After taking a few months away from writing altogether, I really was excited about getting back to work. I've felt for a long time that the site had a lot of diversity, but the fact that jam bands weren't covered here was a missing element. I don't consider myself an expert on the scene by any stretch of the imagination, but I have enough respect for the scene to be able to provide good content.
Since starting the column back in June, I've learned so much about jam bands. Getting to really study Phish in depth was great. I loved writing about Robert Randolph and learning about his work and where that comes from. I've become a much bigger Keller Williams fan since writing about him. Finally, the opportunity to pull some great performances from YouTube and share them with everyone has helped me get even more familiar with a variety of bands.
So after my old satellite radio was broken when someone tried to steal it out of my car, I was without my Sirius radio for about 4 months. It was absolutely horrible. Sirius is where I find new music, where I get turned on to different artists that I wouldn't find anywhere else. I can go from my 90's alternative rock to jam music to metal to classic rock to 80's and 90's rap with a push of a button. If you're a music fan, especially a fan with diverse tastes, I really think that Sirius is almost necessary. I spend a lot of time in my car, and Sirius makes those car rides a whole lot more bearable. It's a great deal, and it makes a great Christmas gift for the music lover in your life.
My Wife
I would not be able to all of these things involving music if I didn't have a wife that was so cool about everything. My wife likes music, but she's not obsessed with it like I am. She's a fan of what she calls "pop fluff," which makes me want to rip my ears off. She bought me my new Sirius radio after the first one broke. She gives me the time to write this column with no complaining. And she's never given me a hard time about going to concerts, even when I'm gone for two or three days for shows.
Not only that, when we're in the car together, I have control of the radio. Period. She hardly ever complains about what we listen to, she never makes me stop and listen to Katy Perry or any of that stuff, and there's only a few things that she asks me to turn off. The only thing she really asks me is to not listen to metal on the drive to work, and I can live with that. I'm sure it can be a real pain for her to deal with, but I've hardly ever heard any complaints.
My wife and I have a son that's about to turn 2, so I would completely understand if she didn't want me to spend hours every week on my column. I would understand if she didn't want me leaving for concerts every other month, often leaving her with Daniel for the weekend. But she's always been totally supportive of my love of music and my obsessive need to see shows, and I am very thankful for that.
Further confirms dates
Further, the new project that includes both Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, has confirmed a month-long tour starting in February. The new band will tour starting February 5 in Miami and wrap up March 8 in Portland (barring any additional dates). No confirmation on whether or not the band plans to record, but the tour should make Dead fans happy.
February 5 Miami, FL Bayfront Park Amphitheatre
February 6 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
February 8 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
February 9 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
February 10 Charlotte, NCBojangles Coliseum
February 12 Hampton, VA Hampton Coliseum
February 13 Faifax, VA Patriot Ctr, George Mason Univ.
February 14 Ithaca, NY Barton Hall, Cornell University
February 15 Lehigh Univ. Bethlehem, PA Stabler Arena
February 17 Buffalo, NY Shea's Performing Arts Center
February 18 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena
February 19 Amherst, MA Mullins Center, Univ of Mass
February 20 Utica, NY Utica Auditorium
February 22 Newark, DE Bob Carpenter Ctr, Univ of Delaware
February 23 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
February 24 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
February 26 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
February 27 Atlantic City, NJ Trump Taj Mahal, Estess Arena
March 2 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre
March 3 Chicago, IL Auditorium Theatre
March 8 Portland, OR Portland Memorial Coliseum
moe. confirms 20th Anniversary dates
moe.'s 20th anniversary tour is beginning to shape up. The band confirmed a handful of January dates, along with announcing their first ever Tropical Throe.down show, a four-night destination show in the Dominican Republic. Tickets aren't cheap, but the shows are at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican. You can get more details on Throe.down here if you're looking for an April getaway.
January 22 New York, NY—Roseland Ballroom (World Hunger Year benefit)
January 23 New York, NY—Roseland Ballroom
January 27 Stroudsburg, PA—Sherman Theater
January 28 Rochester, NY—Harro East Ballroom
January 29 Boston, MA—House Of Blues
January 30 Ithaca, NY—State Theatre
January 31 Munhall, PA—Carnegie Library Music Hall
March 25-27 Killington and Rutland, VT—Snoe.Down
April 21-25 Paradisus Punta Cana Resort, Dominican Republic— Tropical Throe.down
Gov't Mule adds winter dates
Gov't Mule has added some more dates to their By a Thread tour. The band's expected to tour throughout most of next year on the new album, so this probably won't be the rest of the dates. Here are the new February dates.
February 3 Milwaukee, WI—The Rave
February 4 Champaign, IL— Canopy Club
February 5 Chicago, IL—House of Blues (Dare 2 Dream Benefit)
February 6 St. Louis, MO—The Pageant
February 9 Davenport, IA—Capitol Theatre
February 10 Lawrence, KS—Liberty Hall
February 12 Englewood, CO—The Gothic Theatre
February 13 Denver, CO—The Fillmore
February 14 Aspen, CO—Belly Up
February 17 Tulsa, OK—Flytrap Ballroom
February 18 Dallas, TX—House of Blues
February 19 Austin, TX—Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheatre
February 20 Houston, TX—House of Blues
Galactic readies tour
It appears to be the week of tour announcements. Galactic will be touring behind their new album Ya-Ka-May this winter. They've also enlisted a handful of openers, including Tea Leaf Green, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, and ALO (see below). Galactic dates are:
February 3 Boston, MA—Paradise Rock Club
February 4 Philadelphia, PA—Threatre of Living Arts (with Tea Leaf Green)
February 5 New York, NY—Terminal 5 (with Tea Leaf Green)
February 6 Washington, DC—9:30 Club
February 9 Raleigh, NC—Lincoln Theatre (with T Bird and the Breaks)
February 10 Charleston, SC—Music Farm (with T Bird and the Breaks)
February 11 Charlotte, NC—Visulite Theatre (with T Bird and the Breaks)
February 12 Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse (with T Bird and the Breaks)
February 18 St. Louis, MO—The Pageant
February 19 Lawrence, KS—Granada
February 20 Denver, CO—The Fillmore (with Karl Denson's Tiny Universe)
February 21 Aspen, CO—Belly Up February 23 Missoula, MT—Wilma Theatre
February 24 Bellingham, WA—The Nightlight (with ALO)
February 25 Whistler, BC—Whistler Live! (with ALO)
February 26 Seattle, WA—Showbox (with ALO)
February 27 Portland, OR—Roseland Theatre (with ALO)
February 28 Crystal Bay, NV—The Crystal Bay Club/Crown Room
March 2 Santa Cruz, CA—Moe's Alley
March 3 Solana Beach, CA—Belly Up Tavern
March 4 Los Angeles, CA—El Rey Theatre
March 5-6 San Francisco—The Fillmore
March 7 Las Vegas, NV—Wasted Space
ALO 2010 dates
ALO is readying their upcoming album, the Jack Johnson-produced Man of the World, and they've announced the initial tour in support of the record. The band will be doing a handful of headlining dates before touring in support of New Orlean's funk band Galactic. The album will be released February 9, and the tour will begin the next day in Long Beach, California.
February 10 Long Beach, CA—Fingerprints Record Store
February 11 Solana Beach, CA—Belly Up Tavern
February 12 Hermosa Beach, CA—Saint Rocke
February 13 West Hollywood, CA—Troubadour
February 14 Santa Barbara, CA—Soho Restaurant & Music Club
February 18 Santa Cruz, CA—Moe's Alley
February 19 Crystal Bay, NV—The Crystal Bay Club/Crown Room
February 21 Arcata, CA—Humboldt Brews
Supporting Galactic:
February 24 Bellingham, WA—The Nightlight
February 25 Whistler, BC—Whistler Live! (Vancouver 2010 Olympics)
February 26 Seattle, WA—Showbox
February 27 Portland, OR—Roseland Theater
Before I wrap up this week, I want to include a skit from Saturday Night Live. Dave Matthews was great in this skit, and I think you'll all appreciate it.
One more thing would make me very thankful this week. I would be very thankful for either a What.cd or a Waffles.fm invite! Please! Ok, so that's all for this week. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and it's time to get ready to do some Christmas shopping. See you next week, and until then, Jam On!
