Quick Picks From the Disc Changer:
The Slip, 2/18/98- WERS in studio performance
STS9, 9/18/04- STS9 in NYC
Phish, 10/31/96, Disc 1- Really nice DWD
Verve Remixed
Dub Is A Weapon- 3/29/04- Excellent small band, live dub
Discman: Verve Remixed 2
Music:
JGB, After Midnight and others
I've been eating up the recent Pure Garcia releases like I devoured the first Dick’s Picks releases (they were very few and very far between back in the day) and the Live Phish installments (the website being a pathetic replacement- essentially a nonexistent archive selection and no updates). The After Midnight set, widely available due to Rhino Records’ involvement, is not from my favorite era, but is a phenomenal recording. Get it just for the title jam of After Midnight > Eleanor Rigby > After Midnight- vicious, vicious, vicious Garcia here. Rhino will also be releasing the under-appreciated Shining Star double disc compilation of later JGB joints. I recently found an old copy in an indy record store and was stunned by some its contents- especially the When the Hunter and the unbelievably soaring Everybody Needs Somebody to Love. Shining Star was released alongside the also out of print Don’t Let Go– a full 76 show of great, uber-mellow gospel Garcia and my favorite JGB release.

Surprise Me Mr. Davis, 7/3/04

I can't stop listening to this The Slip project's High Sierra set. The trio is joined be Nathan Moore for a devastating single disc of songsmithery. The Summer of the Fall early on is absolutely crushing in its drama and pathos, but much of the set is bright and fun. Moore is loaded with quirky, doped up stories, and Marco Benevento joins for a few tunes at the end, including a decidedly Squirrel Nut Zippers-esque Unprotected Sex. Required Listening.

Tabla Beat Science, Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove

I stumbled on TBS last year and was pleasantly surprised recently when I re-stumbled on the super group (featuring Bill Laswell, Zakir Hussein and Karsh Kale) in the form of their 2002 live album. The hybrid Indo-Dub entrances with its border skipping and sonic onslaught. The first disc has a pronounced traditional music component, although Laswell's bass is an often soul-shaking addition to the sarangi and tabla. The second disc is much more of a progressive groove experiment weighted with DJ mixes and fantastic vocals. This is world groove grinding at its very best and is highly recommended for fans of STS9, Club d'Elf and the like.