The Beatles – “In My Life”

This is a great Beatles video compilation set to “In My Life” from the Beatles album Rubber Soul. It is from the Beatles Anthology Documentary.

Michael Hedges

Michael Hedges was an Oklahoman-born man who transcended the acoustic guitar and its traditional playing approach. He was a Peabody Conservatory composition major who was dicovered in a Palo Alto coffee shop by William Ackerman, who signed him to the Windham Hill label in the early 1980s. Hedges’ first two albums, Breakfast in the Field and Aerial Boundaries, were milestones for the acoustic guitar. He eventually branched off into singing and playing more traditional forms of music. He released eight albums before his untimely death at age 43 in a car accident in 1997. If you are interested in checking out any of his music I suggest you pick up his second album Ariel Boundaries. This song below in the opening track on that album.

CLICK FOR MICHAEL HEDGES’ WEBSITE

CLICK FOR MICHAEL HEDGES’ MYSPACE PAGE

Dave Matthews Band

I came across these great videos of a very young Dave Matthews Band playing the Van Ryper Festival in Charlottesville, VA on April 5, 1992. Notice in the first video that Matthew’s says the crowd is the largest they have yet to play for. Also notice that keyboardist Peter Griesar was still in the band. They sure do sound very young.

Two Step

Tripping Billies

All Along The Watchtower

Here are the rest of the videos from that show:

Dave Matthews Band 1992 Van Ryper Festival

Thom Yorke Covers Neil Young

Great cover version of Neil Young’s “After The Gold Rush” by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. It was recorded at Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit Concert last year.

Click To Listen To “After The Gold Rush”:
http://rawkblog.dreamhosters.com/Thom_Yorke-Bridge_School_Night_1/09goldrush.mp3

Click To Learn About The Bridge School Benefit:
http://hyperrust.org/Bridge/Overview.html

Click To See What Artists Have Played the Bridge School Benefit In The Past:
http://hyperrust.org/Bridge/Benefit.html

Bob Dylan Goes Electric on July 25, 1965

This was pulled from an email from my former colleague Frank and I thought it quite appropriate for today…

On this day, folk legend Bob Dylan performs for the first time with electric instruments. His fans, who were used to hearing him play folk songs on an acoustic guitar, were so disappointed that they booed him off the stage. (Still debated if they were booing or reacting to the inadequate PA system…)

Dylan first heard the Beatles and returned to his early interest in rock and roll. By 1964, he was writing rock and roll songs, and in the spring of that year he gave a series of rock concerts in England that were smashing successes. That year, he released Another Side of Bob Dylan, which included rock songs, and in May 1965 he released Bringing It All Back Home, which included electric guitars. The record was a hit in England but not in the United States. Later that year, he released his breakthrough rock and roll album in the United States, Like a Rolling Stone. However, he was still known primarily as a folk singer, and at the annual Newport Folk Festival, organizers expected him to continue his powerful solo folk performances.

On July 25, 1965, Dylan surprised the audience and organizers when he came onstage with musicians–including an electric bassist and electric guitarist–and launched into “Maggie’s Farm.” The crowd erupted in catcalls, calling him a sellout, and organizers like Pete Seeger fumed. After three songs, Dylan left the stage, later returning to sing two folk songs.

Of other interest… the infamous band for the event was:
Mike Bloomfield – Guitar
Sam Lay – Drums
Jerome Arnold – Bass
Al Kooper – Organ
Barry Goldberg – Piano

Here is that performance: