Here Comes The Flood - a weblog about music

Final days for the fabled Amsterdam live concerts webcasts ...

Dear Fabchannel viewer,

After nine passionate and beautiful years of sharing the most amazing concert recordings with you, Fabchannel is stopping. A great number of record labels still won't allow us to record their artists. This prevents us from offering what we need to keep Fabchannel alive.

We want to sincerely thank you for all support through the years! It has been an amazing time, but unfortunately this is where it ends.

With a bleeding heart we're pulling the plug of our online archive Friday 13th of March. Until that time, enjoy your favorite concerts and who knows? we'll meet again.

Justin Kniest, CEO

» fabchannel.com press release

Spinal Tap actors Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer go "unwigged and unplugged". All the way to eleven.

Goniff Concerts, Inc.
3 Nishkeit Plaza
Parsippany, N.J.


March 2, 2009

To: Spinal Tap
Re: 2009 concert tour

Gentlemen:

I have good news and bad news.

The bad news:
Your 2009 “Unstoppable” tour has been cancelled.
The poor economy plays a role in this decision, as does the band’s history, pertaining to shows.

The good news:
Much of your repertoire will be performed in a concert setting this spring in the Guest/McKean/Shearer “Unwigged and Unplugged” tour across the U.S. If you’re interested, we can probably get you a limited number of seats.

More information is available at www.unwigged.com

Our best to your “families”.

Sincerely,
Nathan Goniff

• 04/17 Vancouver, BC, Center for the Performing Arts
• 04/19 Portland, OR, Keller Auditorium
• 04/20 Seattle, WA, Paramount Theatre
• 04/22 Oakland, CA, Paramount Theatre
• 04/23 Santa Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Bowl
• 04/26 Los Angeles, CA, The Wiltern
• 04/27 Phoenix, AZ, Dodge Theatre
• 04/29 Denver, CO, Paramount Theatre
• 05/01 Houston, TX, Jesse H, Jones Hall
• 05/02 Dallas, TX, Nokia Theatre
• 05/04 Jacksonville, FL, Florida Theatre
• 05/05 Miami, FL, The Fillmore
• 05/06 Orlando, FL, Hard Rock Live
• 05/08 St. Petersberg, FL, Mahaffey Theatre
• 05/09 Atlanta, GA, Fox Theatre
• 05/10 Nashville, TN, Ryman Auditorium
• 05/12 Baltimore, MD, Lyric Opera House
• 05/13 Washington, DC, Warner Theatre
• 05/14 Phiadelphia, PA, Keswick Theatre
• 05/17 Columbus, OH ,Palace Theatre
• 05/19 Cleveland, OH, State Theatre
• 05/21 Toronto, ON, Massey Hall
• 05/22 Mashantucket, CT, MGM Grand Theatre @ Foxwoods
• 05/23 Boston, MA, The Wilbur Theatre
• 05/24 Atlantic City, NJ, Music Box @ The Borgata
• 05/26 New York, NY, Beacon Theatre
• 05/27 New York, NY, Beacon Theatre
• 05/29 Detroit, MI, Fox Theatre
• 05/30 Chicago, IL, Chicago Theatre
• 05/31 Milwaukee, WI, Riverside Theatre

» spinaltap.com/news.html
» unwigged.com

photo: Autumn DeWilde

Are The Decemberists able to deliver again? The Portland band upped the ante with The Crane Wife, a album that was nearly smothered to death with praise by every music publication on planet Earth. The Hazards of Love is yet another concept album, that musical gesture that supposedly killed by punk around 1977. Since the members of The Decemberists hadn't even been born then, they are happily unaware of that fact and main man Colin Meloy set himself to composing the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake. The album’s first half was written in order, one song after another. “Then it got harder, once I was imposing a narrative on it,” says Meloy. “It’s fun to toy with little suites when you don’t have to fully develop them, but I’m used to keeping things open-ended.” They road tested some of the songs in 2008, with Colin Meloy sneaking them in into his solo shows.

Al little louder than the last one The Decemberists have donned an early seventies folk rock costume. With two additional singers in two for for the female characters (Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden), this album is The Decemberists most ambitious yet. Add guest appearances by My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Robyn Hitchcock, and the Spinanes' Rebecca Gates, and the album could have gone under all the heavy-handedness, high-brow lyrics and recurring musical themes. As it stands, the songs have a lightness that belies the tragedy (and revenge) hiding under the gentle melodies. A Fall album that sounds like Spring.

The world live premiere is at Stubb's BBQ, Austin, TX, March 18. The American tour kicks off at Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, May 19.

The Hazards of Love is released on Capitol Records. Release date: March 24.

1. Prelude
2. The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won’t Wrestle the Thistles Undone)
3. A Bower Scene
4. Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
5. The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)
6. The Queen’s Approach
7. Isn’t it a Lovely Night?
8. The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
9. An Interlude
10. The Rake’s Song
11. The Abduction of Margaret
12. The Queen’s Rebuke / The Crossing
13. Annan Water
14. Margaret in Captivity
15. The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)
16. The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)
17. The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)

MP3: The Decemberists - The Rake's Song

» decemberists.com

Phish played a full show at Hamptpon as a dress rehearsal, with lights and all, March 4.

1. 46 Days >
2. Pebbles and Marbles
3. Down with Disease
4. Possum >
5. Carini
6. Taste
7. Seven Below >
8. Fast Enough for You

1. Mike's Song >
2. Harry Hood
3. Waste
4. Ya Mar
5. Chalkdust Torture
6. Stash

» thewagger.blogspot.com (info)
» thebutterroom.com (photos)

(Thru week4paug.net)