Legendary Jerry Garcia Band organist Melvin Seals is a special guest Saturday night at the Fitzgerald Theater as Mark Joseph and Heatbox both release albums at the historic St. Paul venue.
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King Gizzard drops 58 new 2024 dates for North America, Europe and South America
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard announced the bulk of its touring plans for 2024, with shows in Europe, four festival appearances in South America and two legs of touring in North America. Most of those shows are in the U.S., though there are a few dates in Canada. They also plan on playing three acoustic shows in the U.K., Detroit and San Diego. This is an addition to the previously announced marathon 3-hour shows in Hamburg, Germany, Forest Hills Stadium in New York, Chicago, Washington’s Gorge, and Austin, Texas.
Read MoreBilly Strings wraps up festival in Colorado
Billy Strings closed out his Renewal Festival in Buena Vista, Colo., with surprise appearances before and after his band’s two-set headlining set, that included originals and covers of Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage,” and John Hartford’s “All Fall Down,” among many others.
Read MoreBilly Strings Packs Much Into Opening Day of Fest
Billy Strings’ opening day of third annual Renewal Festival in Buena Vista, Colo., was a jam-packed day, with lots of music, sit-ins withe likes of Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt, and playing and pickin’ deep into the night.
Read MoreBack at it in Buena Vista
A lot happened while Jam in the Stream’s editor was away, off the grid, for a month. Here’s a wrap-up of the biggest news regarding Phish and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard during that time.
Read MoreTonight in Minneapolis: Todd Clouser + John Medeski + JT Bates at Icehouse
Todd Clouser explains how the Medeski collaboration came to be
Legendary organist John Medeski will be playing at Icehouse in Minneapolis tonight with guitarist Todd Clouser and drummer J.T. Bates.
Tickets are still somehow available! Get them here or at the door, if you dare.
I know I wouldn’t miss a chance to see Medeski in such an amazing, intimate setting in my home town.
It’s the fifth time Medeski has played in a trio at Icehouse featuring Clouser, who grew up in the Twin Cities but is now based in Mexico.
The Icehouse gigs, which have occurred on nearly an annual basis, started out in 2016. The trio also played at the Revival Festival in 2018 at Harmony Park. And Bates has been the drummer the for all of these gigs except for in 2019, when Greg Schutte supplied the beats.
Jam in the Stream caught up with Clouser in a phone chat recently, where he talked about how he found himself not only getting to play with Medeski, of Medeski, Martin & Wood, but also about his career, which takes him all over the globe with various music projects, including A Love Electric.
Clouser recalled first attending some music workshops held by Medeski and drummer Billy Martin.
“I was trying not to be a stalker but chasing them around a little bit,” he said. “We developed a musical relationship. I had them down to Mexico to sit in with different groups that I was in.”
There’s footage of one of those sessions on Youtube. That session is definitely worth a listen, if you love some Medeski (I’ll admit, he’s on my short list of top modern improvisational keyboardists).
Medeski was featured on A Love Electric’s 2014 album, Son of Hero. There’s some solid tracks on that album, with “Hush,” “2100,” and “Tlalpan Girl” among my faves on the LP.
Back in 2016, Clouser and Medeski collaborated on a recording, Boy 44, which also included drummer Gustavo Nandayapa and bassist Aarón Cruz.
I highly recommend clicking past the previews here on both of those albums and listening to them in their entirety.
Boy 44 has provided much of the material that that Medeski and Clouser have covered in their subsequent performances in Minnesota.
One of the Icehouse sessions, from 2017, is also available for purchase on Bandcamp as You The Brave: Live at Icehouse.
Find it here.
If you didn’t know, Clouser rips on guitar and certainly is in the right place performing alongside the improvisational organ god Medeski. He also provides the vocals on this side project.
Just how special it is that Minneapolis music fans have gotten to see these three play together at the posh venue Icehouse is not lost on Clouser.
“It really is special,” he said. “Part of making me feel comfortable is a result of John and JT being generous musicians and people, having this spirit of wanting it to work for everybody. The three of us have that, and that allows potentially good things to happen. It isn’t always that way.”
Bates’s now-concluded, long-time weekly jazz showcase, JT’s Jazz Implosion, seemed like the perfect place for the trio. The showcase was the first to host the trio in Minneapolis.
“I grew up going to his Jazz Implosion in the basement of the Turf Club,” Clouser said of Bates. “He is a really important figure in Minnesota creative music. He has been an inspiration. It was always a dream of mine to play with him.”
Despite his success as a musician that gets to tour internationally, part of Clouser still can’t belive he gets to play music with Medeski.
“I hold him as high as any musician in the history of music,” Clouser said of Medeski, acknowledging the surreal nature of getting to play music with such a talent. “Of course, the first time playing with him, it was intimidating, though that is not on him. I took time to feel worthy of that experience. Now I don’t battle that as much.”
For those of us that live and breath for improvisational music, Clouser is not overstating Medeski’s place and his contributions to this high form of musical art. Some of the most ridiculous jams and performances I have ever been lucky enough to witness involved Medeski. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all of these Minnesota performances, and I don’t know what it would have taken for me to miss one of them.
A Love Electric, Clouser’s main project, does not tour in the U.S. any longer, with most of its dates in Mexico and Europe.
“It was always a dream to be doing that,” Clouser said of touring as a musician. “I have been fortunate to do that. You sacrifice some stability. Especially after the pandemic, I really valued the ability to play music with people that I love.
Clouser’s love for listening to improvised music in his youth, “the world of jam bands,” he said, led to this career. He was into the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, and recalled following around the likes of Pearl Jam, the Dead, Phish and Medeski, Martin & Wood.
“It’s that spirit of live music and the musicians committing to something unique every night,” he said.
Mae Simpson releases single "Cap Guns"
Minneapolis-based Mae Simpson released “Cap Guns” today, the first song off their upcoming album.
There’s a lot of buzz around the song and this 7-piece band that features saxophonist Brian “Snowman” Powers, who also produced the album.
The Current made the single its Song of the Day today. The song is available on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Read MoreMINNEAPOLIS: Twine plays Frog Brigade After Party
Monday night is not a normal Monday night.
It’s followed by the Fourth of July, so there’s two shows of interest happening in the Twin Cities.
First, Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade is at the Palace Theatre.
Then, Minneapolis jam band Twine will be playing an after-show at KJ’s Hideaway, a short walk away, right afterwards.
Tuesday is our nation’s birthday (hopefully, you have that day off). So everybody wins!
Read MoreDuluth's New Salty Dog kicks off three-night run Thursday in Minneapolis
King Gizzard honors Broderick Smith in three-hour set at Hollywood Bowl
King Gizzard’s tour finale at Hollywood Bowl Wednesday was one part tribute and one part victory lap, a three-hour exclamation point on an incredible tour that never let off the gas, rain or shine, for 15 shows.
Especially the last.
The show started off with a four-song tribute to Broderick Smith, who initially was to perform (likely those same) songs from the 2013 Eyes Like The Sky LP, the band’s second album.
Smith wrote and narrated the album, which is something like a Spaghetti Western audio book.
Smith is the father of the band’s entertainer/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ambrose Kenny-Smith. Smith profoundly influenced both Kenny-Smith and the band itself, and it is plain to see. Smith was a British-born Australian entertainer, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who fronted several Australian rock bands such as Sundown, Carson, and the Dingoes.
Read MoreKing Gizz closes Carnation finale with 'Float Along'
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard saved something special for their last of three shows at Remlinger Farms in Carnation, Wash.
Despite having one show left in their tour – a marathon set at Hollywood Bowl Wednesday – this was the last show on the “residency” portion of their tour, where they played multiple nights at four locations.
This last show contained several songs that hadn’t been played this tour, including saving one of their most beloved songs to close out the show.
Read MoreKing Gizz heads for home stretch of U.S. Residency Tour
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard played “Static Electricity,” and “Work This Time,” in their second of three shows at Remlinger Farms outside of Seattle on Saturday. The band has two more shows left in their U.S. Residency Tour, with one more show at Remlinger Farms tonight, and a marathon set at Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday.
Read MoreFishing bibs donned as King Gizz opens run near Seattle
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Stu Mackenzie and Joey Walker came out dressed in fishing bibs as they took to another rainy stage at Remlinger Farms in Carnation, Wash. They were opening a three-night run, the last extended residency stop, on their 15-show U.S. Residency Tour, which concludes Wednesday with a marathon show at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Read MoreKing Gizz debuts "Change" as they close Chicago run
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard played “Change” for the first time during the final of three shows at Chicago’s Salt Shed. It was somewhat of a reward for fans who had been soaked by rains for hours to see the band at the venue’s outdoor stage setup.
Read MoreKing Gizz pulls out another banger on second night in Chicago
King Gizzard’s second of three shows at Chicago’s Salt Shed was the latest badass performance from the band on their 15-show U.S. residency tour. Read a full show writeup ahead of their final show in Chicago tonight.
Read MoreKing Gizz delivers heat on cold Chicago night
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard returned to Chicago on a cold and windy night. Even as they played a venue that blocked the view of their backdrop, they won over new fans with a show that highlighted their heavy mode as well as improvisational talent.
Read MoreKing Gizz closes out three show run at Red Rocks
King Gizzard didn’t let a rain delay shorten their third and final show at Red Rocks Thursday night. They played several notable versions of songs, including, “Rattlesnake,” “Straws in the Wind,” and “Slow Jam 1,” including others.
Read MoreKing Gizz dusts off 'Satan Speeds Up' to treat day-time Red Rocks crowd
King Gizzard played for the first or second time, “Satan Speeds Up,” a psychedelic classic the band put out back in 2014 at their day-time show at Red Rocks in Colorado Thursday. Read more about the show in this writeup.
Read MoreKing Gizz drop more debuts in opening Red Rocks show
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard played to the Colorado crowd in their first of three shows at Red Rocks Wednesday night. They debuted two songs, “Motor Spirit,” and “Hate Dancin’.” The band has two more shows there Thursday, June 8.
Read MoreKing Gizzard shines in acoustic set
King Gizzard’s final of four shows at The Caverns in Tennessee was a special one.
Not just because it was one of their rare acoustic performances.
There were so many things worth noting about this one, from some deep jams to a dedication.
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