The Dancing Tree 02.10.2009

New Additions:

Outformation - Been A While DVD fanpack, a HGMN exclusive! First 50 orders come with signed & numbered poster (shipped seperately) and sticker! If you love a great rock show, or you have seen Outformation perform live then you already know that this band is one that knows how to rock. Atlanta based, Outformation is starting to leave their mark in time. The new DVD titled, "Been A While" was recorded over two nights in June of 2007 at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta, GA and features long-time friend and guitarist extraordinaire, Benji Shanks of Atlanta's Captain Soularcat. Careful, this one may rock your socks off. "Been Awhile" is a time stamp in the history of an American rock n roll band. $19.99

moe. - Dr. Stan's Prescription Vol. 2 (2 CDs) - Volume 2 of moe.'s new live series is a live recording of the first night of moe.'s own festival - the moe.down in Turin, NY, on August 31, 2001. Songs include: Moth > Lazarus,
Bring You Down > Brent Black, Bass Jam > St. Augustine > Time Ed > Moth & Don't Fear the Reaper $15.98

Mike Dillon's Go Go Jungle - Rock Star Bench Press CD- A lucky 13 mega-wattage tracks ready to be dead lifted through your speakers. The three piece unit, led by the acclaimed vibraphonist and percussionist Mike Dillon, delivers a frenetic blast of manic energy, careening between love affairs with Chuck Brown, The Butthole Surfers, Milt Jackson, William Burroughs and The Minutemen. The Go-Go Jungle's reputation for marathon live shows--that often morph into freak-out dance parties lasting to the earliest hours of the morning--proceeds them as they tour the U.S. prolifically. In the studio, however, they've harnessed their "live" chemistry by concocting the most twisted punk rock meets bebop meets electro clash record you'll hear all year--or more likely the only one you'll hear all year! $14.98

Jorma Kaukonen - River of Time CD - Produced by Larry Campbell (Dylan Band) at Levon Helm's Woodstock studio, RIVER features Levon on drums and a cast of stellar musicians including mandolin virtuoso Barry Mitterhoff. Campbell also plays and his wife Teresa Williams lends her outstanding vocal prowess. Six of it's thirteen songs are Jorma originals, a prolific showcase with themes of family, friends and inspired memory throughout. The album also revisits the blues and country music that Jorma first fell in love with in his youth, featuring bright new interpretations of Mississippi John Hurt, Merle Haggard and Rev. Gary Davis...and pays tribute to old friend "Pigpen" Ron McKernan on the Grateful Dead's "Operator." Whether reinterpreting classics or crafting new originals and shimmering instrumentals, RIVER OF TIME finds Jorma at the top of his game with inventive arrangements and his strongest songwriting to date. $17.98

Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid CD - On his solo debut, Black Keys singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach takes a simple approach: 'I just wanted to do the things I loved.' For Auerbach, that means combining elements of bluegrass a la the Stanley Brothers, mournful country balladry, Memphis-style R&B, fuzzed-out psychedelic rock and low-down blues on this collection of 14 original tunes, which Auerbach self-produced and recorded with friends and family at his family at his newly built studio, Akron Analog. $15.98

Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys LP - One of the most amazing live albums ever, and a must have for music fans of all kinds. Jimi Hendrix, besieged by personal demons, changed music forever on December 31, 1969 at The Fillmore East in New York City. Under the moniker Band of Gypsys, Jimi, drummer Buddy Miles, and bassist Billy Cox served up healthy doses of furious psychedelic rock, gut-wrenching blues, and shots of funk and fusion. Nobody captured and interpreted the late 60s/early 70s groove vibe like Hendrix! Packaged in gatefold sleeve & remastered from original tapes. 140 gram vinyl $17.98

February 24 - Blind Boys of Alabama - Live in New Orleans DVD
JJ Cale - Roll On CD
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Live at the Fillmore 1967

March 3 - Phish - The Clifford Ball (7 DVD box set) $79 (pre-order)
Alison Brown - The Company You Keep CD

March 10 - Toubab Krewe - Live at the Orange Peel CD
Fareed Haque & the Flat Earth Ensemble - Flat Planet CD

March 17 - Return to Forever - Returns DVD
Les Claypool - Of Fungi & Foe CD
John Brown's Body - Re-Amplify CD
MGMT- Time to Pretend CD
Old School Freight Train - Six Years CD

Last Week:
Marco Benevento - Me Not Me CD - Marco Benevento, who first attracted national attention playing Hammond B-3 organ and Wurlitzer in The Benevento-Russo Duo, shifts the focus to acoustic piano with his own trio. Throughout Me Not Me, he proves to be one of the most compelling sonic innovators of his generation, re-imagining the instrument through guitar pickups, delay and distortion effects and a Fender Super Reverb Amp. He shapes and shifts the aural depth of the recording by adding layers of Ace Tone drum machines, Farfisa, Optigan, Mellotron, tack piano and other unconventional keyboards, while using circuit bent toys to develop the emotional character of the songs. Beneath the blanket of colors, the core of the album is the collective energy of Benevento's trio. Reed Mathis, Matt Chamberlain and Andrew Barr provide a take off point for magnetic post jazz improvisations. $13.98

Tony Furtado - Deep Water CD - Tony Furtado has long been a master of the banjo and guitar as well as a skilled singer/songwriter, but after nearly 20 years of recording, DEEP WATER marks the first time he's released an album populated entirely by his own compositions. While this move displays Furtado's increased confidence in his troubadour chops, the album nevertheless features three instrumentals on which he struts his trademark blend of folk-flavored Americana with as much verve as ever. $15.98

The Night James Brown Saved Boston DVD - On April 4, 1968, the leader of the nonviolent resistance movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis. On April 5, 1968, James Brown sang, and the city of Boston didn't burn down. The Night James Brown Saved Boston tells the story of the pivotal role that James Brown -- and that particular concert -- played in the political, social and cultural history of the country, focusing on 1968, a defining year for America.

Using actual performance footage and the personal recollections of James Brown's band members, friends like activist Reverend Al Sharpton, personal manager Charles Bobbitt, Princeton University Professor Dr. Cornel West, Boston citizens, those who attended the concert, politicians (such as former Boston Mayor Kevin White) and Newsweek's David Gates, The Night James Brown Saved Boston tells the compelling story of an artist at the absolute peak of his powers using his artistry for the greater good. $18.99

Menahan Street Band - Make the Road By Walking CD- The Menahan Street Band is a collaboration of musicians from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, Antibalas and the Budos Band, brought together by musician/producer Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Amy Winehouse) to record hits in the bedroom of his Menahan St. apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. With influences reaching beyond the funk/soul/afrobeat architecture of their other projects into the more ethereal realms of Curtis Mayfield and Mulatu Astatke, the Menahan Street Band creates a unique new instrumental soul sound that is as raw as it is lush. Their debut album, Make the Road by Walking will be released on Dunham Records, Brenneck's new imprint of Daptone Records, a joint venture devoted to bringing the Menahan Street sound from Brenneck's bedroom out into the world. $14.98

Bob Weir & Ratdog - Gathering of the Vibes 2007 (3 CDs) - A great show at an amazing festival. Guests included Steve Kimock (Guitar), Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay (Vocals), & Keller Williams (Guitar/Vocals).
I: Jam > Shakedown Street > Minglewood Blues > She Belongs to Me, Money for Gasoline, Easy to Slip > Supplication > Dark Star > Shakedown Street (reprise) > Eyes of the World
II: Me and My Uncle, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall > Two Djinn > Stuff > Come Together > Dark Star > St. Stephen > William Tell Bridge > The Eleven
E: One More Saturday Night > Ripple $24

Video of the Week:

Grateful Dead - A fabulous, acoustic Birdsong from the Radio City Music Hall run of 1980.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
Lee Crumpton