The first round of summer tour dates for O.A.R. have been released today. Included are shows for nearly all who regularly read this here blog. For those in KC, Sandstone will be rocked on June 6th. Riverbend in Cincinnati has a date with O.A.R. on June 13th. And for me, the band will be making their second appearance at Red Rocks on June 5th. This comes after finding out that they will also be in Vail for the Spring Back to Vail event on April 19th. I haven’t seen a show since last year’s performance at the Mile High Music Festival, so I am definitely pumped! Here’s a video of the band announcing some of these goodies.

Summer Tour Announcement from DREWRLM22 on Vimeo.

Dave Matthews Band summer tour dates are out, and once again I’m a little disappointed. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see Denver (and the surrounding area) get skipped, since there really isn’t a venue large enough for the band to consistently play at. Yes, we do have the fabulous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, but they haven’t played there since 2005. I was hoping this would be the year of their return, but I guess I’ll have to keep on waiting. So now I have to attempt to make plans to travel to another venue to see the band. Should I go back to Deer Creek? What about another trip to the Gorge? Or how about something new, perhaps a show in California or Texas? Too many choices, not enough vacation time and money.

A long time favorite band of mine has started releasing their followup to their debut album titled Tree Trunk Airplanes. Currently the only way to get this latest SoundRabbit release is through their backstage program. Fortunately for you all, I have a link where you can download all of the tracks in a convenient zip file. Be sure to download the tracks and give them a few spins. If you like what you hear, head over to the backstage website to sign up, or find out more information on the program here. I’m really digging these seven tracks and I hope you all will too.

I’m much later than years prior, but I finally wrapped up this year’s NOW That’s What Ed Calls Music CD. What can I say, it was a busy year! You will definitely notice a wedding theme to this one, which is applicable since there are a number of songs included that we used for wedding DVD’s, etc.

1. Ray LaMontagne – You Are The Best Thing
2. Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
3. Brett Dennen – Make You Crazy
4. O.A.R. – Whatever Happened
5. The Beautiful Girls – I Thought About You
6. Kings Of Leon – Sex On Fire
7. Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
8. Fleet Foxes – Ragged Wood
9. My Morning Jacket – I’m Amazed
10. Will Hoge – Dirty Little War
11. Virginia Coalition – Stars Align
12. Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am
13. Mike Doughty – 27 Jennifers
14. Michael Franti & Spearhead – Say Hey (I Love You)
15. Newton Faulkner – Gone In The Morning
16. Eric Hutchinson – Rock & Roll
17. Sara Bareilles – Many The Miles

I won’t be printing of many (if any) copies of the compilation like I have in the past. There simply isn’t enough time, and I think most people want it on their iPods and mp3 players anyway. So the entire thing is obviously available for download from this site and I’ve also added it to sendspace.com (download link toward the bottom of the page), which should be a much faster download. As always I hope you enjoy it and happy holidays.

I should have mentioned that if you do want a hard copy of the CD, the artwork is included in the zip file so you can print it out and make one yourself. :)

I’ve recently been turned onto Wolfgang’s Vault and their concert vault. I’ve always been a big fan of streaming shows throughout the work day from the Live Music Archive, but Wolfgang’s Vault gives me even more options. The LMA is all fan contributions and is regularly updated with brand new shows. Conversely, Wolfgang’s has a solid supply of much older recordings that appear to be from the soundboard, and are also free to stream from your computer. I’ve been staying busy listening to some Allman Brothers, CSNY, and even some Bob Marley. A free membership is required, but I’ve found no reason not to sign up and let the show begin.

Over the long weekend we did a wide variety of things. First up, I’d like to mention the two Michael Franti & Spearhead concerts we attended on Friday and Saturday nights, both at the Fillmore. Typically Kim doesn’t want to see the same band perform in back to back nights, but this time I convinced her to attend both. I was thinking that the shows were going to be completely different experiences, definitely with varying setlists. Unfortunately this was not the case, as I think I could count the number of songs that were played the second night but not the first on one hand. I would think that they now have enough material to easily play two nights and not repeat a song. If I remember correctly, the encores for each night were nearly identical. I know not everyone is going to attend both nights, but there were definitely a few in the crowd that did and had to be a little disappointed.

With that said, the shows were incredible! I’m trying to leave out my bias from hearing the same songs the second night and recall how amazing I thought the first night was. The band sounded super tight and mostly in sync and Michael himself was just as energetic as always. Joining them both nights was Jamaican singer Cherine Anderson who added her wonderful vocals to the mix. She also sang a few songs to open up the set, including a nice take on “Redemption Song.” The Fillmore itself was a wonderful place for these performances and I was amazed at how well you can see the performers from nearly anywhere in the large open room. Hopefully we can return sometime soon to see another band perform.

Monday night, Kim and I headed to the Bluebird Theater to see Matt Nathanson. You may remember about a year ago, we saw him play at this very same venue. This time was a bit different. First, I don’t think the show sold out last time, but this time it sold out in advance, forcing myself to find tickets on craigslist. Fortunately I found a pair for barely over face. Just like the last time, I was hassled by venue security about my recording gear. I managed to get inside the door with my equipment but was told that I couldn’t record the show. Another taper from the the last show was in attendance working the merch booth, so I told him of my problems. He paged the tour manager, who stopped by immediately and solved all of the problems. She was a big help!

So I was able to tape with little problems, though I did have to find a power outlet half way through the night. I was a little unprepared to be taping the show. We arrived in the middle of the first opening band, The Break And Repair Method, so obviously I didn’t record them. I thought that they were alright, their last song was probably the best. It’s their current single, “You Won’t Be Able To Be Sad.”

Up second was Jessie Baylin. She announced during her set that her friend Brett Dennen sang vocals on one track of her album. It didn’t really surprise me, as I thought early on in her set that she sounded like the female version of Brett Dennen. But for some reason I just couldn’t get into her music, and that’s coming from a Brett Dennen fan.

It doesn’t really need to be said, but the Nathanson set was good. The sold out crowd definitely didn’t know the older songs, for the most part, so the setlist followed songs from Some Mad Hope with some random covers and a few rarer songs thrown into the mix. Despite not being able to set my recording rig up near the soundboard, I feel that the recording turned out really well. Though I will let you all be the judge of that. You can find it here or you can try out the player below to take a listen to the concert.

Last night Kim and I headed to the Paramount Theatre for our first concert there. We had been there one time before, but that was for a Warren Miller movie. Last nights entertainment consisted of Sara Bareilles, Marc Broussard, and Raining Jane. We had seen a similar show a couple of years ago when Bareilles opened up for Broussard at The Granada in Lawrence, Kansas. This time it was vice versa, with Broussard opening for Bareilles. Crazy to see what a couple of years can do.

We arrived as Raining Jane was finishing up their set, but were able to catch a few numbers from this all female group. The most interesting part of their band and show was the percussionist who mostly played what I’m thinking is called a cajón. If nothing else, the crowd really seemed into this band, who I was not at all familiar with prior to last night.

Broussard played second, a fairly quick set with the usual Calvin Turner and Chad Gilmore, but he also had a guy played keyboards and an electric guitarist with him. I was honestly shocked to find out that he had just released another album, as I hadn’t heard anything about it at all. From the few new tracks he played, it didn’t sound nearly as good as the old stuff, which the crowd clearly enjoyed more as well. Also, the performance wasn’t as full of energy as I remember from years past, but I guess that can be hard to do in a opening slot. I really hope we didn’t hear the best from Mr. Broussard years ago. I’ll have to check out the new stuff a little further.

On the flip side, Sara Bareilles was much better than I remember her being from a couple of years ago. I do recall liking what I had heard before, but I was amazed at how good she really was last night. She had a pretty talented band assembled with her, including the gentleman on electric guitar that we had seen her with years ago. Typically Kim is ready to leave a show anytime it gets after 10pm, but she actually wanted to stay and watch everything last night, and that was on less than six hours of sleep. It really was that good.

I’m stuck at work today in the office, so I haven’t been able to keep up with the DNC events as well as the past couple of days. What would have been really cool to see is Rage Against the Machine’s concert that is going on now. I used to love this band, and have never seen them live, though I’m sure it’s full of energy. Instead, I had my yearly review, and despite receiving the highest marks possible, received another mediocre raise. I guess it could be worse, the amount equates to 8%, but still I always expect more. I’m really curious as to when I’ll get my next promotion from level two up to level three. There is always next year, I suppose.

Sunday night we caught a performance from the best Beatles tribute band on earth, 1964. This is not their own claim to fame, rather something that Rolling Stone has said about the band. In fact, they were 167 out of the Top 200 Box Office grossing bands, according to Pollstar. And not only did we get to see this spectacular band, we got to see them play at one of the best, if not the best, amphitheaters in the world, Red Rocks.

Going into the show, I knew it was going to be a sell out crowd, since this is a regular occurrence when this band plays Red Rocks. However, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in attendance at Red Rocks before. We arrived fifteen minutes before the show was scheduled to start, and could not find a place to sit in the entire place. We ended up standing toward the back, until the wind started kicking up dirt into our eyes, and eventually found ourselves watching the show from outside of the main seating area, on the other side of the steps. It wasn’t a bad spot actually, and we could see everything, not that there was much to see. The band has the simplest setup I’ve ever seen on that stage, or possibly on any stage. They stay very true to the tribute, and play with just enough gear to get by. But what they may lack in stage presence, they make up for in great sounding music. It truly felt like you were hearing a live performance from the Beatles. This band is a must see!