The Vermont jam legends Phish wrapped up the July section of their summer tour with a swing through New York and RtBE was able to catch four out of the five shows they played in the Empire State. While the band takes a short breather until September, it was clear from all in attendance that for a band that has been active for over 40 years, they still have a lot of gas left in the tank.
RtBE have written about Phish a lot, but one show we have not mentioned is the June 19th 2004 monster of a night at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, NY.
It was the the first of a two night stand at the amphitheater in what would be their last summer tour for over five years. This era of Phish, between the hiatus and Coventry festival, is commonly known as Phish 2.0 and has many fans/detractors when it comes to the groups style during these years.
Each August RtBE has had a yearly tradition dating back over twenty years, go to the Travers Stakes in gorgeous Saratoga, NY.
We have attended each year of the horse race since 1998 and the string ends in 2020 (with so many other things) as there will be no fans in attendance at the mid-summer Derby today.
In past years we have posted songs about horses, feeling lucky and playing the ponies, while we are not a big gambler, this annual tradition will be missed. Saratoga is gorgeous this time of year and we even wrote a series about The Grateful Dead enjoying the town in the early days of this site.
Whether it was Lemon Drop Kid, the first Travers winner we picked, or Bernadini holding off Bluegrass Cat in 2006 . Keen Ice upsetting American Pharoah (we had that one) or Arrogate blowing away the field in the fastest race we ever saw (didn't have that one) each Travers day has been special.
The race has been moved up in the racing season, just one more wrinkle for this Covid scared year. While we hope Tiz The Law keeps on trucking, Uncle Chuck scares us and he may be our pick come race time:
While the horses are nice it is the people that make this special and one more thing which can't happen this year has put a damper on the spirits as gathering with long time friends to chat, reminisce and relax will not be happening. 2020 has brought about so many cancellations and changes, but this one ends a very long streak and special event for us. Perhaps we start a new Travers streak next year, or evolve into some other Summer tradition, any which way it shakes out we will have the memories.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Dave Matthews Band!
August always makes RtBE think of upstate New York, specifically the town of Saratoga. Going to high school just a few miles from the town, we would spend many August days at the beautiful horse track and hot nights in the state park watching bands from all over. A few years back we presented shows from the venue itselfThis month we will highlight some bands who always seemed to roll through and we (mostly) got to see live.
Last time we did this series focused on SPAC we started with DMB and as much as it pains us, we need to end with him this month. Perhaps no one seems to typify SPAC summer shows more than Dave Matthews Band over the last 25+ years.
That said, I could care less about the band....So I will leave it up to RtBE's editor to write a bit about DMB at SPAC (and other places) in 1997 (and 1994). You can to read it below while listening to a more recent set from the band. Just click that Read more buton to get started.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers!
August always makes RtBE think of upstate New York, specifically the town of Saratoga. Going to high school just a few miles from the town, we would spend many August days at the beautiful horse track and hot nights in the state park watching bands from all over. A few years back we presented shows from the venue itselfThis month we will highlight some bands who always seemed to roll through and we (mostly) got to see live.
Ahh, Tom Petty. While we could have picked other years and other shows, this was when RtBE felt Petty & The Heartbreakers was riding highest, right around the release of Wildflowers. We already went deep on that record so we will talk about catching them live the summer of '95 on outdoor leg of this exact Dogs Have Wings Tour surrounded by the warm woods of SPAC.
It was a great night, our first seeing the group, as well as catching up with tons of old friends who weren't into the music as much as the party, but the sounds and set list were a joy. For this show there is a distinct memory of being pressed up against the barricade between the lawn seats and the amphitheater bowl seats.
It was a fun as hell night and one we wanted to showcase on this Friday in particular with The Travers tomorrow. RtBE is back in town for Pints, Ponies and Post Time at the Spaaaaaaa!
Pro-Shot, Pro-slightly warped VHS tape sound, full setlist below. Enjoy:
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Chicago, United Center March 03, 1995
Love Is A Long Road You Don't Know How It Feels 4:52 Listen To Her Heart I Won't Back Down 15:03 Free Fallin' 18:24 You Wreck Me Diamond Head Mary Jane's Last Dance 32:05 Into The Great Wide Open 42:03 Learning To Fly 47:15 Don't Fade On Me 51:46 Girl On LSD I Just Wanna Make Love To You Wildflowers 1:06:46 Yer So Bad It's Good Too Be King Breakdown 1:23:06 Driving Down To Georgia Refugee Runnin' Down A Dream 1:39:00 encore: Honey Bee 1:48:30 American Girl 1:55:02
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Santana!
August always makes RtBE think of upstate New York, specifically the town of Saratoga. Going to high school just a few miles from the town, we would spend many August days at the beautiful horse track and hot nights in the state park watching bands from all over. A few years back we presented shows from the venue itselfThis month we will highlight some bands who always seemed to roll through and we (mostly) got to see live.
There are few bands that evoke outdoor summer sunshine fun better than Santana. Almost on this exact day 48 years ago this killer concert went down in Tanglewood. Holy Moley, this is a gem.
Santana is another one who whenever he toured seemed to play SPAC in the summer, so much so that our first time catching him was when we got a $10 ticket because he couldn't put asses in the seats anymore!
It certainly didn't effect his playing from the stage. It was early 2000's and his band mixed his Supernatural comeback (blah) with old warhorses (yeah!) so he was well worth checking out...we still have hte poster and ticket from this night framed in RtBE HQ.
Full setlist and info regarding the show below. Pro-Shot, Pro-Sound this one is a summer highlight for sure, Enjoy:
Santana - Full Concert Recorded Live: 8/18/1970 - Tanglewood (Lenox, MA)More Santana at Music Vault: http://www.musicvault.com Subscribe to Music Vault: http://goo.gl/DUzpUFSetlist: 0:00:00 - Batuka / Se A Cabo 0:07:38 - Black Magic Woman 0:13:19 - Oye Como Va 0:17:51 - Incident At Neshabur 0:23:25 - Toussaint L'Overture 0:28:25 - Evil Ways 0:32:53 - Hope You're Feeling Better 0:37:31 - Treat 0:44:04 - Savor / Jingo 0:53:42 - Soul Sacrifice 1:06:53 - Gumbo 1:11:34 - Persuasion
Personnel: Carlos Santana - guitar, vocals Gregg Rolie - keyboards, piano, lead vocals David Brown - bass Michael Shrieve - drums Jose "Chepito" Areas - percussion, conga, timbales Mike Carabello - percussion, conga, vocals
Summary: Recorded just over a year after Santana played its historic Woodstock Music & Art Fair performance, the band was fast becoming one of the biggest in the world. They were about to release their second album, Abraxas, and were riding high on the heels of three hit songs from their debut album and a new Top 10 hit, a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman."
A year earlier - in fact only a few days before the Woodstock Festival - Bill Graham staged the first of several concerts billed as "The Fillmore at Tanglewood." Tanglewood is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the storied venue had just begun to experiment with staging contemporary concerts on their grounds. Staging a rock concert in a classical venue had yet to be done, so of course the concept of doing so excited Graham. He brought the full-scale Fillmore East production team in, including the Joshua Light Show, and booked a great lineup. This first concert featured B.B King, Jefferson Airplane and The Who, and drew the largest crowd that Tanglewood had ever seen by far.
Buoyed by the event's success, Tanglewood and Graham agreed to stage three similar dates in 1970. The last of these is this show, when Santana headlined after The Voices of East Harlem and the legendary Miles Davis had played. This historic and beautifully recorded performance features a smoking performance by Santana in the last year of their classic lineup, before a young Neal Schon joined the band. We think you'll agree it's an incredible performance by a great band in their prime.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Steve Miller Band!
August always makes RtBE think of upstate New York, specifically the town of Saratoga. Going to high school just a few miles from the town, we would spend many August days at the beautiful horse track and hot nights in the state park watching bands from all over. A few years back we presented shows from the venue itself. This month we will highlight some bands who always seemed to roll through and we (mostly) got to see live.
This week we showcase the Steve Miller Band set from 1992 at Shoreline Amphitheatre. In the early 90's Miller was a touring powerhouse, every summer he would sell out SPAC and for some reason it would be THE summer concert until Dave Matthews somehow took over.
Kind of surprising but also kind of obvious as both are lighthearted, middle of the road, semi-fun nights out for the middle aged upstate (white) fan.
Here is where that caveat mostly from above comes into play; we never went to Saratoga to catch Steve Miller, but I will guarantee he rolled through their in 92 and we passed...weren't into his style, but can't bag on his professionalism.
Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Full Setlist and LOTS of Info Below. Enjoy:
Steve Miller Band - Full Concert Recorded Live: 10/10/1992 - Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View, CA)
Setlist: 0:00:00 - Fly Like An Eagle 0:04:51 - Seasons 0:08:33 - You're So Fine 0:12:09 - Mercury Blues 0:15:36 - I'm Tore Down 0:18:38 - Gangster Of Love 0:20:53 - Livin' In The USA 0:25:15 - Dance, Dance, Dance 0:28:16 - Rock'n Me 0:33:41 - Take The Money And Run 0:37:21 - Jet Airliner 0:42:14 - Monologue 0:44:23 - The JokerPersonnel: Steve Miller - guitar, lead vocals Norton Buffalo - harmonica Keith Allen - guitar Byron Allred - keyboardsSummary:
Steve Miller was among the major artists who lined up on this 1992 weekend to pay homage to indigenous peoples for an event billed as "All Our Colors: The Good Road Concert, A Benefit for the Traditional Circle of Elders and Youth." Held over two days at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, the concerts commemorated 500 years of survival of the native peoples of the western hemisphere, with appearances by Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne and Santana presented alongside a traditional pow-wow and music from indigenous artists.
Miller used his set to highlight his blues roots: after all, he'd spent his early years on the Chicago club scene, learning the music from the masters. Eventually, he headed to San Francisco where he formed the Steve Miller Band in 1967 and explored the blues within the context of the city's vibrant music scene. Their debut, Children of the Future, received little commercial notice upon its release in 1968. Over the course of continued recordings however, the Miller Band and its leader honed their guitar jam and riff style, and eventually lost the psychedelic tones; by 1973, they'd found themselves a hit with the The Joker. He followed up that album with an even bigger hit, Fly Like An Eagle in 1976, a multi-platinum rock standard, and its companion, Book of Dreams, in 1977.
For much of the '80s and '90s, Miller largely worked as a road dog, touring behind greatest hits collections. For this set, he turned in fresh, acoustic rearrangements of the catalog material on which he'd made his name. A fairly sparse "Fly Like An Eagle," mingled with "par-tay" tunes, as he called them, like "You're So Fine" and K.C. Douglas' "Mercury Blues," which he dedicates to John Lee Hooker, also featured on the bill that day. He dedicated Freddie King's "I'm Tore Down," to Ry Cooder, while throughout his set, Miller was accompanied by his trusty sideman Norton Buffalo, on harmonica. They turn out "Gangster of Love," Miller's own homage to the old time blues styles that inspired him, and "Living in the U.S.A.," his high-energy jam about the American dream, as it was once known. Saving the crowd-pleaser for last, the self-referential "The Joker" can still bring a crowd to its feet, no matter when or where Miller performs it.
Miller would soon record new material on Wide River (1993); in 2010 he finally cut another studio album, Bingo!, to add to his catalog, but the mid-to-late '70s were truly his most prolific years. And yet, this '90s set finds "The Gangster of Love" and the "Space Cowboy" finding new ways to perform old tricks: "The Joker" rides again...
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...The Allman Brothers Band!
August always makes RtBE think of upstate New York, specifically the town of Saratoga. Going to high school just a few miles from the town, we would spend many August days at the beautiful horse track and hot nights in the state park watching bands from all over. A few years back we presented shows from the venue itselfThis month we will highlight some bands who always seemed to roll through and we (mostly) got to see live.
Well we will start this loose Full Show Friday concept month with one of the all time great live acts who seem to get better and better when the sun was shinning on them. Maybe it was their southern roots, or the blue skies but the cosmic energy seeped into things; no one can ever say this band wasn't a joy when they were hittin' the note.
We caught them once at SPAC in their latter day lineup with Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks dueling on guitars, but here in their '94 version you get Dickie Betts and the thunderous Allen Woody on bass (along with the always amazing Haynes). Just a few ours south of Saratoga in the odd, revamped, Woodstock '94, which our friend Clancy worked at...strange days indeed.
Pro shot with pro muddy sound (typical for Woodstock) which gets a little better after the opening "Statesboro Blues" and "Blue Skies", if you want to skip ahead do not pass "Jessica" which is the clear highlight of this set. Enjoy:
The Allman Brothers Band - Full Concert Recorded Live: 8/14/1994 - Woodstock 94 (Saugerties, NY) More The Allman Brothers Band at Music Vault: http://www.musicvault.com Subscribe to Music Vault: http://goo.gl/DUzpUFSetlist: 0:00:00 - Statesboro Blues 0:05:40 - Blue Sky 0:12:34 - The Same Thing 0:20:32 - Soulshine 0:27:29 - Midnight Rider 0:31:38 - Jessica 0:42:32 - No One To Run With 0:48:08 - Back Where It All Begins 0:57:41 - One Way Out 1:07:45 - Whipping Post
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Phish!
August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays.
With Travers weekend here, we figured we would end this series with the band we have seen the most at the historic Saratoga venue. Phish. With Vermont being so close this is almost a hometown show for the band anytime they visit the state park. Page's Father has shown up on a few occasions and the band just seems to really enjoy the venue.
While we didn't make up there this year our Sister did and while she wasn't enamored with the shows, Summer + Saratoga + Phish ='s Classic any way you add it up. Especially with the amazing interwebs and the ability to watch this show now (until it is taken down) wherever you may be. Pro Shot, Pro Sound. We hope you enjoyed this month's focus on a great venue.
Now Enjoy Phish's show from last month:
Phish: Sun, Jul 03, 2016
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Def Leppard!
August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays.
Wow, great to see the Lep make an appearance this month! This show is from their 2014 tour where they hit the US with KISS of all people. Def Leppard is a fun live experience as their songs just work perfectly in big crowds and strip clubs.
On thing that we have not mentioned yet in this series is how weak this years August SPAC lineup is. With the horses running you would think they would be able to bring in more top notch acts, but they are few and far between in 2016.
Back to the show, this is a handheld video of the full show, and while it is shaky and zoom heavy the sound is really solid. The visuals gave me a bit of a headache, so you may want to put this one on in the background, but thanks to person who suffered and videotaped the full show.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Pearl Jam!
August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays.
Now that we got rid of that dreck from last week (Editors Note: Easy...) we can all agree on the greatness of this band. Pearl Jam are American rock royalty and they bang out some damn satisfying music under starry skies.
This one is extra special because we were there. Another RtBE favorite Sonic Youth opened the set (wish that video was here) as they were touring behind their NYC Ghost and Flowers album. That was never one of our favorites, but the band still played old classics like "Teenage Riot", "Bull In The Heather" and "100%". PJ even tipped their hat to NYC avant-rockers during "Daughter" and added a bit of SY noise-rock in one of favorite tunes of theirs, "rearviewmirror".
For the main act the band seemed to put extra aggression into things to start before becoming nuanced later in the set. This was a long show, and one of my favorite memories was hearing "Yellow Ledbetter" wafting over the gorgeous grounds of the State Park with my friend Don who insisted we hit this show (Thank You!). This show reignited my love for the band and while the recording is on a video camera and a bit shaky the sound is excellent for a 2000 outdoor venue.
August 27, 2000
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
Breakerfall
Whipping
Spin the Black Circle
Hail Hail
Corduroy
In My Tree
Dissident
Given to Fly
Nothing As It Seems
Grievance
Light Years
Daughter/(Beginning to See the Light)(WMA)(Androgynous Mind)
Lukin
MFC
Wishlist
Better Man
Even Flow
Insignificance
Rearviewmirror
---
Sleight of Hand
Do The Evolution
Once
Timeless Melody
Small Town
Leatherman
Porch
---
Soon Forget
Black
Yellow Ledbetter/(Nobody's Fault But Mine)
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Dave Matthews Band!
August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays.
Well there is certainly a theme with the last few big band posts as the RtBE staff are split when it comes to Dave Matthews Band, some love them, some hate them. What can not be disputed is the bands draw in upstate NY and really everywhere they tours that has suburban semi-hippies living within a two hour driving radius. When we were in high school it was a major draw each summer, but yet your humble writer never saw them once (thank god) and still can't stand the mans voice.
Our esteemed Editor however has enjoyed them multiple times, but not in many a moon. Because of that we decided to showcase a fairly recent set from the band to kick off our SPAC month here at RtBE. Enjoy:
Dave Matthews Band
May 25, 2013
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
It is of the 8th Studio disk from Rancid titled ...Honor Is All We Know. It is a straight up dope Rancid album, if you liked them in the past you will dig them now. If not the, nothing has really changed. We have always dug them dating back to before they formed in their Op-Ivy days. Early Rancid were very influential on us and we still have a great memory of meeting Tim back at Saratoga Winners. I think we still got a Let's Go t-shirt somewhere too.
To RtBE ...And Out Come The Wolves is our favorite from the Bay Area Rockers but since those first two early blasts of greatness we would probably call this new release their third best as a band and that is saying something as they have not put out a bad disk, ever.
There are certain albums that stick with you for reasons...a memory of a particular place, time, person. A spark of a better/worse moment in life. A reminder of that crazy person you once were. Then there are albums that stay with you that aren't particularly tied to you in any concrete form function or rationality, quite simply you just like the music.
Wildflowers is that last kind of album for me and this November the album celebrates its 20th anniversary. Lets chat about it...
Well it is Travers week and we are excited to be going again. We are not sure, but we are at least up to 12 in a row at this point and are glad that the tradition continues and our friends and family still join us for a great weekend in Saratoga, New York.
To help amp up our excitement, the last few years we have written some of our favorite (and most popular) posts regarding the event. Two years ago we talked about Songs for Gambling on Horses, three years ago we took the money out of it and just talked about Songs for Horses. Last year we addressed maybe the most important aspect to playing the horses, Songs about Luck. This year we are switching it up a bit to pay tribute to one of the most important aspects of Saratoga, Tom Durkin
Every year we look forward to the end of August as The Travers is run up in Saratoga and we are going 11+ years without missing one. It happens this Saturday and it is a great day to hang out with friends and family, actually all week there are events in town for everyone. In looking at this years race we like the closer Orb a bunch, but there is still a lot of handicapping to get done...
The last few years we have written some of our favorite (and most popular) posts regarding the event. Last year we talked about Songs for Gambling on Horses, the year before we took the money out of it and just talked about Songs for Horses. This year we are addressing something that we can't see but we can certainly feel, Luck.
Sure there is a skill to this, you can track horses, jockey's, trainers, practice times and track condition's all you want but when it comes down to it you need luck on your side. These are gorgeous majestic animals, but they are still animals; if something spooks a 2-1 Favorite, next thing you know your money is lagging in last place down the stretch. My favorite player of the ponies is my own MaDukes, who knows her horses and stats, but is never afraid to play a fun name, a whim or a Gray horse, because you never know.
To bad the show Luck didn't have any luck, because we loved it, but horses and the world surrounding it isn't for everyone. Always sad when shows get canceled especially those of that quality but we talk more about music here so lets jump into some lucky tunes....Click that Read More to get started
People who have followed the blog will know that RtBE looks forward to the end of August, because that is when the Mid Summer Derby happens, the Travers Stakes. Here is 2011's race in full:
Stay Thirsty ran a great race, unfortunately I had the under-performing Coil to win it after he dazzled me, coming from behind to win the Haskell, earlier that summer. Boy was I wrong. This year marks the unbelievable 143rd running of this great race, we have been attending the Travers for the last 10 years and look forward to catching up with old friends picking a few winners and most importantly enjoying a nice day out at the Top Of The Stretch.
We haven't made up our minds yet on who we will picking to the win the race, currently we are leaning towards the favorite Alpha, but we will probably switch it up 5 times at least pre-race. If you are looking for an insightful preview check out the Thoroughbred Racing Dudes, they have been pretty good this year and are a solid read. Here is a direct link to their Travers Preview although I am not as high on the closer Street Life as they are...Coil still burns.
In years past RtBE has marked the occasion of the race with Grateful Dead shows played at SPAC not too far away from the track. Last year we did one of our favorite posts, songs about horses. This year we will tackle songs about gambling, with a special focus on the horses. Click "read more" below to dive on in with your cash at hand.
It is pure Boosh! that Tom Waits is coming out with a new album in a few months...to promote the upcoming Bad As Me he held a Private Listening Party for his fans...Peep it!
Great stuff I would love to be rocking out in that old jalopy with him...as an added bonus I left these two off yesterdays Songs About Horses post because well, I knew this was coming today...so enjoy two more Songs About Horses by the great gravel-y one...
"Jitterbug Boy" Live in 1977 (with a long intro, actual song starts at 2:31)
"Nowadays it's Fast Women, Slower Horses...Unreliable Sources"
Their is a Live Bootleg from Australia regarding his 78 Down Under Tour that happens to be called Fast Women, Slow Horses Cough*Cough
"The Fall of Troy" "It's the same with men as with horses and dogs...Nothing wants to die..."
Enjoy your weekend and here's hoping everyone bets on fast ponies....
Wow...Photo Finish! Fly Down almost got Afleet Alex at the end...what a finish, here's hoping this year holds up too, I am leaning towards Coil this year, but with 10 horses running the race is wide open so I am committing to nothing yet.
(RtBE note: I am editing this post as it went up too soon, 2 more songs added to the original list Thanks Caesar for "Galway Races", no idea how that slipped my mind!)
To set the mood we are going to get into some songs about horses today. The beauty of it is, who knows if the songs are really about horses, women, men, heroin or all of that...So here are 12 songs (plus 2 bonus tracks if you keep scrolling) about horses...or connected to horses...or maybe the writer saw a horse once...
Why not start with a classic? Get your bets in and then MOUNT UP!
Weren't expecting that were ya? Thought if I was going to go with The Man in Black Johnny Cash it would be Tennessee Stud? Sure it's a great tune, but I plan on betting on those "Camptown Races" while Johnny makes those Camptown Ladies hearts swoooon!
Sticking old school here I can't leave out Gene Autry and while the song has more to do with cowboys, then jockey's yet...they both be riding some horses yo!
Here is another one that sticks on the acoustic front (don't worry we will start rockin' soon) Townes Van Zandt was known for achingly beautiful songs and some cool mid song chatter. Oon a live show I own of his he makes sure to mention that this song is indeed about a horse...is he pulling the audience's chain? Perhaps...could I have gone with Pancho and Lefty? Sure. But I didn't...here is "Two Girls":
It's Emerald Isle Time! Ireland has a great culture of horse racing, and Caesar reminded me of an old Irish tune that is a must to include in this list of Horse-y Songs, especially one that focuses on gambling with the ponies! "Galway Races" is the song The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem are performing the version I'm a choosin'. You even get a mini history lesson of why the Irish are world renowned for their music, beer, writing....but not their err..culinary skill.
Next up is RtBE favorite original blues-man John Lee Hooker getting his primal electric riffing on for his baby and those "Two White Horses"
Faster Horses, Younger Women, Older Whiskey, and More Money. Tom T Hall you speak to me...yes sir!
Ok starting to creep into rock territory now...even though it is still mostly acoustic, How about some 60's rock? First up is some Byrd song action with the descriptive "Chestnut Mare":
Next let's kick it over to Jolly Old England and ride some "Wild Horses" with The Rolling Stones:
How about we "Run For The Roses" huh? This one holds a special place in my special one's heart when it comes to The Jerry Garcia Band so I including this instead of Dan Fogelberg's tune of the same name..Reach for the stars...hope all my horses do that this weekend and hope none of them smack into the sky:
Make it funky? Ok Here is Cliff Nobles & Co with "The Horse" what does it have to do with horses? Umm...The title?!:
When I walk into Saratoga this year I will do so with a winning ticket, I get to cash in ticket, receive the real cash, which I am sure I will promptly lose on the next race. I do however walk in a winner this year, how you may ask? I picked a top notch pony earlier this season when I hit the raceway with MaDukes! The horses name? Runaway Jim! How could I not bet on a Phish song to win? So while it might be about a dog, today it is about a horse, Here is "Runaway Jim" from the New Years Day show at MSG this year.
And finally rounding out our Songs About Horses (or kinda about) here is the jam that runs through my head every time I play the ponies, a personal favorite from this list...The Hold Steady "Chips Ahoy"
And yes...I will be betting at least something on the 5th Horse...in the 6th race this weekend...
If you are sticking around this long, lets give you 2 bonus songs from some of my favorite groups who happen to have "Horse" in the Groups Title.... Neil Young and Crazy Horse, "Fuckin' Up" here's hoping we do none of that this weekend:
Band of Horses, "Older" yes we keep getting older, but Travers, never losses it's luster...
This review is part of the "Over Flow" Review Series. For various reasons these past reviews were not published anywhere else. I am tagging them as Overflow Reviews and may add some extra information after if needed but I will keep the ratings and reviews just as I originally wrote them. Enjoy:
The Nightwatchman
Union Town EP
*** out of *****
For those who don't know by now The Nightwatchman is Tom Morello's alias for his solo venture that see's him raging even more against the machine while delving deeply into left wing politics. Morello has said that this was a reaction to playing in Audioslave, but his songs go back much further then that with their roots in political anthems as old as this country. He is not trying to be a chart topper and during a time when the country is divided or disillusioned with politics he is not afraid to take a direct approach and express his feelings which I am sure many people who enjoy his rapid fire riffing will avoid.
This EP goes a even a step further by giving all of it's sales towards http://saveworkers.org/ so Morello is putting potential proceeds where his mouth and heart is. The more pressing question for this review is, what about the tunes?
Well The Nightwatchman started out almost exclusively acoustic, but has gradually started adding electric flourishes to get his point across; this EP is mostly stripped down and focuses on some old songs that have been floating in and out of Union Halls for the last 95+ years. The title track however is a Morello original (and standout on the EP) that opens with a wah-wah fuzz riff announcing a flaring sense of daring before the acoustic 6 string comes in and the message follows "If you come to strip our rights away/we'll give you hell every time/Cause this is Union Town!".
Then Tom dips into history books to break out "Solidarity Forever" by Ralph Chaplin using "The Battle Hymn of The Republic" as template and exulting Union pride over piano plunks and a marching snare, then dips into bleakness with the Kentucky Coal Miner anthem, "Which Side Are You?". The backing tracks everywhere are sturdy and simplistic; never distracting from the message, but never boring either. The limiting factor here are Morello's vocals, while delivering a fierce message and amping up the fist raised masses he is more then admirable like on the Woody Guthrie classic "This Land Is Your Land?" (banned verses included) but when he goes for emotional effect on "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill" and "16 Tons" things aren't as successful. Safe to say this version of "16 Tons" won't replace Tennessee Ernie Ford's classic cover version, but Morello isn't really going for studio perfection here as heard on his ripping live track taken from this February's Wisconsin Union demonstrations, "Union Song". He is here to spread his message and if you don't like it that's fine...he will just keep on singing, marching and protesting for the working man.
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So it is Travers week and I will be heading upstate to join the festivities, such as drinking great beers for charity and hanging with family and friends. I have spoke in the past of my family still living up in the area and that is where today's review comes into play. No we didn't all travel to go see Rage Against The Machine together...(all though I did catch them back in 96 on the Evil Empire Tour and it is still one of the best shows I have ever seen) but we did all live in a very Pro Union household. I have heard these songs The Nightwatchman are singing on this EP since I could walk (well obvious exception being the 3 originals) and these kind of tracks as well as Irish folk music were the first tunes I can remember as a child. I thoroughly enjoy the songs presented here, even if I have maybe heard better versions else. The time I first knew of Morello going solo was when I actually walked into one of his free shows on my block in NYC no less.
It was during the Republican National Convention in New York City back in 2004, I had just moved into my new apartment and there was really very little notice of the Republicans in town, but wouldn't you know it there was a stage on my block set up one afternoon (by the union UNITE if I remember correctly). While I was walking home from work in my suit looking like a cheap hustler I had to stop. Then I heard some song playing and realized I knew the guy, it was Tom Morello going to town on an acoustic guitar, I stuck around and heard him play some Guthrie and "Road I Must Travel"
It was pretty cool back then and remains pretty cool now...it is fresh to hear direct expression through music at times, which brings up another point...I have no problem with people expressing their beliefs through song even if I don't agree with them.
It always boggles my mind when I hear people complain about things like "I bought a ticket for the music, not for some guy to preach his beliefs at me" especially in an age where it is pretty easy to find out pre-purchase what slant you are going to get, or simply go to have a coke and smile and shut the fuck up during that tune. The Eddie Vedder Bush Mask situation
or CSNY '06 Freedom of Speech Tour both come to mind. I have no problem with anyone expressing their views, political, spiritual, emotional...hell that is what all music is!!! Why people get so worked up over politics and music mixing especially I will never know. Anyway, enough ranting, look for the Union Label and listen to these tracks from Tom, I am looking forward to his newest full length released soon, and looking to chat with PaDukes this weekend....
"Union Town"
"Solidarity Forever" And as a bonus a ripping "Ghost of Tom Joad" with Bruce:
