Hi all,
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the warm weather. This is my first week of vacation so I know I have been :) There looks to be plenty of music to fill your time with even if some of my own favs seem to have gone out west for a bit...still there are a few festivals that are worth checking out, which I assume some of you have or will in addition to the regular bar shows. I'd normally plug the calendar section here, but I seem to have been a bit lax on updating it, so I'll instead suggest you wait a few days and hopefully, I will get around to it. I'm particularly looking fwd to the return of one of those bands, the Slip, and there show on the 28th of this month out on the Vineyard. Hope to see some of you there.

-Tony

THE RETURN OF THE CALENDAR SECTION!

Did I mention the Calendar section is back? :-) No really. now residing at:

http://necalendar.freeservers.com/Calendar.htm

I should have some comprehensive instructions for submitting dates in the near future so check back periodically. One advantage of hosting it off site is that I can update the dates in a more timely manner. This does not mean send me dates later, it just means that I have some flexibility. It is still beneficial to send in dates as soon as possible. I will also be adding a Festival Section shortly. It is not up yet, but when it is, it will reside at: http://necalendar.freeservers.com/Festivus.htm

I should mention that it doesn't load properly with Internet Explorer (fault of the server not the browser or code). Also coming soon: a venue links section and some other cool links as well. I guess that's enough about it for now.

NEW ENGLAND BAND LINKS?

NOTE: Please keep sending them in even though the page is not up yet. It will be easier to do when I have a whole bunch than updating it one by one.

Well, I've been mulling over the idea of adding a REGIONAL (NEW ENGLAND ONLY) band links section to which I think would go nicely with our calendar section, which is finally up and running again! Anyhow, if you are in a band, publicist, mgr or even friend of a band that is both - from New England (ie, currently calls New England home) and has a website - then please feel free to send me the URL for their site. Please verify the URL if you could, no use listing broken links. Also, please include the state they are from. That would be helpful. I would really like the focus of this to be on the many smaller bands that never even get out of New England and are mainly known to their local fans. These are the bands that would benefit most from this. I've received a few of them and you will see them in the appropriate section. Feel free to send in ones you don't see yet. I'd also like to ask that the band be true to the particular genre that this site caters to. Really, it's a pretty wide label - Jambands - and basically, if a band does some improvisation and the focus is on the live experience, then they would qualify for this. I look fwd to getting your submissions and hope this proves to be helpful to the bands and fans alike.

FREE REVIEW PRIZE: (Analog or CD-R)

Well, since it seems this Y2K crap came and went without the impending doom many feared, I figured why not make my offer Y2K compliant, spread some good music, or at the very least make it FREE. I will think of it as a sacrificial offer to the millennium gods or quite possibly as a way to get more reviews. Either way, I'm happy...new, updated info below: Just a reminder, I will pick one review each month with the winner receiving a FREE show from my dat (analog tapes) or from my CD-R list. A show will likely be limited to 3 cds or tapes, and since I enjoy spinning analogs from my dats about as much as I enjoy hangovers, this will for all intent in purposes be a CD offer, though I may be willing to spin analogs from my cds. I won't necessarily pick the most well written review; in fact, the winner will be somewhat random! Reviewers, please check this section to see if you have won. This month's winner is Gabriel Johnson. Congrats! and get in touch with me for details of the offer.

Looking forward to more great reviews in the coming months.

Also if you are a past winner and I haven't gotten around to finishing up your cd's, feel free to send me a reminder. I've recently lost my job (which I'm happy about btw), but I no longer have access to past e-mails, so I may have overlooked a past winner...sorry.

* NEWS FROM NOWHERE * NEWS FROM NOWHERE *

CAMP CREEK UPDATE:

GENERAL INFORMATION: Mad Murphy Productions
madmurphy@snet.net
335 Palisado Ave.
Windsor, CT 06095
860.298.8444
For more info go to:www.maxcreek.com

CAMP CREEK - GENERAL INFORMATION

Public Service Announcement

The 7th Annual Drums Around the World will take place on Saturday & Sunday August 26 & 27 at the Amherst Common in Amherst Massachusetts.The event will run from 11am-7pm and is free. The event features performances,workshops,vendors, and participatory drum circle.

Contact Global Alliance at 413-584-3022

Announcement: Boston Area Show Discussion List

SHOW REVIEWS: REVIEWS! REVIEWS! REVIEWS!

GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

I pretty much accept anything as far as reviews go, as long as they pertain to jambands. Really, this is a very broad category, and I give a lot of leeway on this too. Of course, I reserve the right to not use anything or to edit them as I see fit. You will get full credit for reviews and I generally take a hands-off approach to editing, meaning I don't want to change the feel of your review. After all, YOU were there, not me. Some important things to keep in mind. Deadline! Our deadline is the 5th of the month. This may change in the future, but for now, that is it. You can still send me your review if you miss the deadline; I "may" be able to get it in, if not; it will be used in the next issue. Please run "Spell-Check" before submitting your reviews. Also, if you are referring to song titles, please put them in "quotations". When e-mailing them in, it's best to just put them in the body of the e-mail or mail them as .txt. If you send something else there may be a chance that I won't be able to open it because of software incompatibilities. The best way to get a feel for what the reviews are like is by reading past ones. Remember you don't have to be a journalist or professional writer, you just had to be at the show. If you have any specific questions just send me an e-mail: ne@jambands.com
I promise to be gentle. I guess that's it for now. Looking forward to getting some new reviews and reviewers in the coming months.

p.s. I've added reviewer's e-mail addresses, so feel free to contact them if you like their reviews or even if you don't...feedback is always welcome.

Moon Boot Lover has had its ups and downs over the years. Back in 1995 or so was probably their peak. At that point the band was Peter Prince on lead guitar, Neal Evans on Hammond B3 organ and Alan Evans on drums. (the Evans brothers are now in Soulive) and a couple of different bass players. When the Evans brothers left, though, the band went into a bit of a tailspin. They transformed themselves from a groove soul funk unit to something with a little bit more rock muscle. They were still big enough though that String Cheese Incident opened for them in Boston sometime around 1997.

Moon Boot put out two great albums. The first was a studio album "Outer Space Action" and the second (a live album) "Live Deep Down." The main focal point of Moon Boot has always been Peter Prince. Whatever you have to say about him, you have to admit that he's a great showman. Busting out over the top dance moves and generally giving all of his energy into the show, he's definitely fun to watch. Sometimes he maybe goes a little bit too far over the top (for example, I've seen him at a couple of shows with a black leather vest on with no shirt underneath). He can wail on the guitar though and he really does have a soulful voice.

Currently Moon Boot Lover is filled out with Andy Herrick on drums. Andy used to play with another great band, Harpoon. He has a very definite rock sound, but I don't mean that to be a put down. I mean that he has a big propulsive sound. The bass player's name was Jon Hawes . He rounded out the rhythm section with funky slinky bass lines. At times he seems content to hold down the fort while Peter Prince wails away. Other times, he takes the song and really puts his stamp on it.

At Harper's Ferry this night, the show got off to a late start. Deep Banana Blackout was playing down in Providence and the crowd was a little small. I was expecting a much bigger crowd but Moon Boot hasn't been out touring non-stop like they used to do. Maybe people forgot about them and maybe the show wasn't well promoted. Either way, I was pretty excited to see what these guys were up to.

The opening band "Pork and Beans" has some serious chops. They jammed in an Allman Brothers style. I felt that they may have been charging a little bit too hard though. It was like every song was this massive "Mountain Jam" style song that built and built and built but that never really released the energy. One cool song they covered was the old Sesame Street counting song where it goes "One Two Three Four Five, Six Seven Eight Nine Ten, Eleven Twe-el-el-elve" as the pinball machine rolls around.

Moon Boot Lover came on around 11 (maybe even later). The show was good. I only recognized a couple of tunes. They played Ali and Train. They also did an older tune that I forget the name of but that features the chorus "I'm moving up, I'm moving out." The energy was great and I was having a good time. About 12:30 though, my friends and I had to boogie. I had a good time checking out Moon Boot and I even thought the opening band was nice.

The next day, though, I received an email from someone else who was at the show. He wrote "I don't know man, the band is lacking an ingredient. I'm not sure what it is, but something. I'm not sure what time you left, but at about 12:15, the crowd started to disappear like David Copperfield. And obviously the band knew it, Peter knew it and I think it really had an impact on how the rest of the show went on. They freaking ended it with some slow ass song, then Peter says "Goodnight everybody, thanks for coming." I was like what the *#%&, I was very upset and disappointed....walking to my car. They need something, DO A COVER!!!!!! get the crowd going so they won't leave. Something. what did you think?"

As I was one of the people to leave early, I don't really have too much to add. I think it's interesting, though, that Peter Prince is listed on the b ill for Berkfest but that Moon Boot isn't. I hope that Moon Boot Lover is not done for good. They still put out some great live music. Catch them if you get a chance.

Taking stage bespectacled and zen-like, John Scofield knew he was there to show the kids what jazz/funk guitar truly can be, while giving a nod to the youthful Jazz Jamband scene's talent. Fresh off a European tour and the Playboy Jazz Fest in LA, Sco's now road-seasoned new band took stage with a calm, cool and collected demeanor; subtly easing into the first tune, "Drop and Roll". By the end of Scofield's first solo, the band was at a high-pitched boogaloo when they busted down to a sweet duo jam featuring Ben Perowsky on techno-boogaloo skins and Avi Bortnick on wahwah rhythm guitar (who I happened to recognize from his old gig, DIG)....a little bass solo from Jesse Murphy and back to Scofield burning it up on top. Next was a graceful, breezy "Chicon", which was wonderfully appropriate for the seaside vibe. John then addressed the audience; spreading good vibes to all and noting how his home state seems to have gotten much hipper; hmm...at least while John and this joyous crowd are here. Continuing deeper into the funky stuff Scofield ripped through five more tunes including a funky tribute to guess who, "Blackout", wherein the crowd was heard chanting a well-known funk band's name, a loping N'Orleansesque "Jeep On", and a jam with Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno on "Hot N Tot", which reached a peak when they decided to trade 4s in a cuttin'-heads fashion. Kraz held his own, but if I had to pick a winner.... Can't wait to see Sco again !!

check out www.johnscofield.com for more info on John's tasty CDs and shows

Charlie Hunter and his new percussion duo thoroughly inspired the already enthusiastic crowd tonight at the House of Blues. Simultaneously and seemlessly laying down deep, sultry Afro-Cuban feels and sweet punchy melodies, Charlie again proved himself as a one-of-a-kind performer. Accompanying him on drums and percussion respectively were Stephen Chopek and Chris Lovejoy, who seemed to have a deep rhythmic rapport. At specific times during each arrangement, Stephen and Chris would look at each other, flash a signal and bust in to pre-ordained cuban and puerto rican drum-stops. This evoked a very primal vibe, and the crowd followed. Midset, Charlie announced he wanted to pull out a Blues in honor of the venue, whereby he launched in to a rabble-rousing Chicago Blues, which of course ended up being a gracefully cubano blues by the end. Though the show was shorter than many shows that I've seen, There is no way for anybody to guage how much effort it must take for Charlie to perform with such technicality and soul on a night to night basis. Kudos.

Sign on to www.charliehunter.com for more information on Charlie's exceptional CDs and shows

set 1: Intro(I think they did this one NYE?)>Hak No Say, Ernie Mickey (Volunteer of the Week), Torque, Trane-ing, Crack in the Sundial, untitled? set 2: Untitled (Worried Man), Yellow Medicine>Aptos, Highlands, So Dope, Dogs on Bikes E: ??, Lion on a Rock

Let the groveling begin ;) This was sold out early, but some folks managed to get in off the waiting list. The first set was fairly quiet, but it was great to get Torque, another song I was sure would have been on the disc last summer when they were in studio. Andrew had the slide whistle out for it, and was big on the bicycle bells and hand clapping all night, it's a guaranteed classic whenever he is this into it :) They did manage to squeeze 1 track from Does into the 1st set, and CitS was sweet in this room, all wood and windows, and a sit-down crowd that (for the most part :) swayed and tapped in their seats and absorbed sound nicely. BAM asked the crowd if they want to come back here next time or go back to the dives, it seemed 50/50 :)

Set 2 is probably their best set not counting NYE ;) The Yellow Med>Aptos move in set 2 was perfect, Andrew had the jungle beat going throughout Med, Brad dropped a few miniscule Zion teases, Marc was just loving the cabinet he's borrowing while the Eden travels west, all the wood made for a tasty low end. The metal mushroom was awesome tonight, he got some pure tones with it, very bell-like at times. His Dad was in the crowd, so he mimicked an ER heartbeat for him to start Aptos, very funny. Aptos is the one I've been mistaking for Gemini, played many places in the last couple of months, most recently 3rd song Creekside, and as the 2nd set opener at the Wetlands. So Dope broke quite a few vows about staying in seats for the whole show :) Brad really did what he wanted to with the sunburst, no blond tonight.....No sitar either, it wasn't in sight, so it may well be on its way west. That fulfilled the requirement of one Does track per set ;) Dogs on Bikes kept all the positive energy flowing, definitely one of the stronger versions of this tune. The crowd was very responsive all night, appreciating each solo and many of the nuances known to longtime fans. BAM rewarded the kindness with LoaR, as if we weren't already in their debt ;) Lots of swishing thru the grass, Brad's voice in that octave reserved for beautiful wishes, even moreso than during CitS. It's such a communal tune, everyone in the room added a piece to the whole. Many mental pictures of freedom are floating in the ether today, hopefully they make their way over to the zoo :) Another 200+ people changed for life, again :^)

BAM head west on a high note the night after a rather quiet show in Philly where they played well to a sparse crowd due to the Phish show in Jersey. Briefly, they opened with a new tune (written 3 weeks ago) that is an instrumental and has native american influence, just amazing, I'm sure the west coast will be treated to it quite a bit in the next few weeks. They also played a great Munf and a ridiculous Sandman, a nice Tempus Forget It, as well as a wonderful Pictures of Calysto and a kicking Fungi Mama encore where I was sure Andrew's set would catch fire. Only a 1 setter, it ran about 1:45, those that showed up were mighty happy, there won't be many more this size.

Lupos is home turf and the cavern was pretty full considering the lure of Phish in Hartford. R+G is the perfect opener when your soundman isn't around, starts soft and builds sweetly, the house engineer did ok, but the room is still a tough one in which to appreciate music at BAMs normal volume. Lupos generally covers up the flaws by redlining it, the holes in the ceiling where the lighting and speaker rigs have fallen and been put back up again are a testament to that :^) I think this was the only song the blond was out for, but I could be wrong; This opener usually portends good things and was right on the money last night...EM was 2nd again (like Scullers). Brad was very into it, easily held his own against the rhythm machines to his left :) 2 vocal tunes in the first 3 songs, has to be a record....YMS was really nailed, especially the last chunk, where Brad sings along with the notes he's playing. My Room finally got some CD release play...Marc was hopping, this should stretch out some more out west. I'll say it again, Spice is just grooving right now, it's one they fall back on when they can't think of anything else with some tempo to play, but similar to Dogs on Bikes, they never tire of playing it and I never get tired of hearing it ;) Especially when it segues into Evil Chase Music. This wasn't the raging version they threw down at the Wetlands last fall, but still upped the ante on folks who were already gasping for lactic acid ;^)

They gave us a half hr to recuperate, then jumped in with Esquisito, you know, Squeezy-Toe :) They got the heads in twice this time (only once at the Knit the other night), 2 or 3 heads are better than one for damn sure :) This was a good way to open the live broadcast (Digital Club Network? sent set 2 out over the net live, hopefully it's archived somewhere, I haven't looked yet, gotta put secret agent scour to work :) Johnny's made 3 Does tunes in 1 night, a record. This one is a keeper, Marc big as always, but Brad really hit all his parts and Andrew was sharp filling and during his solo as well. Nellie was here, and we benefited. Brad obviously had her in mind when he wrote it and it shows, a gorgeous song for an amazing person. There was a really fast Zion/Phase One tease, just an echo of the Brown show back in April...Co-op City was so good to hear again, hopefully they bring it out west with them and transport a little of NY to Cali :) Andrew's chops are biting on this tune, and Brad just makes the sunburst writhe. They broke out the new tune with the worried man lyric in it next, it's like a flat Joe Higley, with more a more interesting storyline, I expect it will get lots of play. Moral Decay blew the place up, folks were dancing like maniacs during the ending and BAM just piled it on, all 3 in perfect time throughout, an adrenalin infusion for the ride home :) They settled us down with More About Me, a poignant ballad, and were pretty much out of time when they finished. As usual, they managed to get an extra 15 and predictably put the Dogs on Bikes, and this was awesome, double and triple time stuff at the end and a quick Wade in the Water phrase, and the huge end that leaves you quaking long after the applause is done. Thanks to BAM for a great 4 day run, have a great time out west with them, don't miss a show if you can help it :^)

NEW ENGLAND SHOW CALENDAR

Editor's Note: The Calendar, as mentioned earlier, is up and running again. I'm still trying to find a better/easier format so that I can update it in a more timely manner, and I hope to make a page for IE users since it doesn't work so well for that browser.

If you would like to add a show that you don't see on the calendar listing please e-mail Armand at armand.turcotte@bigfoot.com

You can also e-mail him if you'd like to receive it as a once a month e-mail.

Please be aware that Armand puts this out on a monthly basis (the first of the month) so he needs sufficient time to update it.