This disc is turned and framed, it's seen much better days

by Yome NetSan 29. October 2012

I think I have a rather big Phish collection but I don't often show the items I buy. So here are some of the last Phish related vinyls and discs I recently received.

The last Marco Benevento record is as good as the previous ones is not better. Moreover Mike Gordon plays bass and mandolin on Escape Horse, a tune already released last year as a limited 7" disc.

Like most of us, I discovered Jennifer Hartswick with TAB, but the girl really need more recognition for his solo work. All of her 3 albums are absolutely great, very jazzy and funky, and her contribution to Everyone Orchestra's first studio album makes it feel like one of her own.

Continue reading...

What a long, strange trip it's been

by Yome NetSan 20. April 2012

I promise, this will be the last article about Jam in the Dam 2012 but I wanted to conclude with a collection of all the articles.

The whole experience has been great with lots of highs and a few downs. The shows were spectacular and it was very funny to travel with my little boy. I'll keep a lot of good memories from those 5 days...

 

Waiting and planning

2011-03-17 It's the closest to a Phish show we get for several years !
2011-07-20 Jam in the Dam, here I come !
2011-11-22 Jam in the Dam schedule

2012-02-08 I'll be tripping with this strange design
2012-02-27 Amsterdam is getting closer and closer
2012-03-05 QR Code card contest
2012-03-12 Setting up and loosing money

 

Live reports from Amsterdam

2012-03-14 Jam in the Dam : Live tweeting
2012-03-15 Jam in the Dam : Night 1
2012-03-16 Jam in the Dam : Night 2
2012-03-18 Jam in the Dam : Night 3

 

Post-trip reviews, photos and recordings

2012-03-20 Amsterdam : Travel and discoveries
2012-03-21 Amsterdam : Arriving at the Melkweg
2012-03-22 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 1 - Lotus
2012-03-23 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 1 - Mike Gordon
2012-03-23 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 1 - Dark Star Orchestra

2012-03-29 Amsterdam : Third day and signing session
2012-03-29 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 2 - Keller Williams
2012-03-30 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 2 - moe.
2012-03-30 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 2 - Mike Gordon

2012-04-10 Amsterdam : Day 4
2012-04-11 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 3 - Mike Gordon
2012-04-19 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 3 - Keller Williams >
2012-04-19 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 3 - Dark Star Orchestra >
2012-04-19 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 3 - > Lotus >
2012-04-19 Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 3 - > Dark Star Orchestra (Reprise) 

 

The pictures I sent during the festival can be seen as-they-were-sent on LightBox.

I don't know if it's really worthwhile but for the sake of completeness, here are all my Amsterdam tweets.

/image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/01 Discovering the city.png /image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/02 Arriving at the Melkweg.png /image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/03 Jam in the Dam 1.png /image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/04 Jam in the Dam 1.png
/image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/05 Jam in the Dam 2.png /image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/06 Jam in the Dam 2.png /image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/07 Jam in the Dam 3.png /image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/08 Jam in the Dam 3.png
/image.axd?picture=/2012/4/Amsterdam Tweets/mini/09 Leaving Amsterdam.png

 

 

And finaly, a list of links with reports, pictures and other stuffs :

 

See you at the next Jam in the Dam ?

2013 ?

2014 ?

Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 3 - Mike Gordon

by Yome NetSan 11. April 2012

Friday 16th march 2012 @ 20:00

3 Mike Gordon shows in three days with 2 in a row in less than 24 hours.

The final Jam in the Dam night started with the final Mike Gordon show in Amsterdam. As usual, I arrived early and found Stephen right in front of the stage. He finally got his bass signed the night before ! I was so jealous ! During the afternoon, he listened to the soundcheck and heard two noticeable songs. One of it was The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again that they finally didn't play in the show. He also told me he met Scott Murawsky during the day and also crossed Mike's path with his family. The band didn't show up for the signing session the night before because they have been caught in a tour boat for longer than they planned ! Too bad...

Arriving on stage, Mike started toying with a Korg Kaossilator, asking for a number to choose the sound. Another Door was the first song, followed by Crumblin' Bones, a Tom Cleary original. I didn't know the next one neither so I already had hard time tweeting the setlist !

Each song seemed shorter than the ones from previous nights with less jamming. But the playing was great with nice solos from Scott.

Mike came back several times to his Kaossilator, asking for number (I asked "7" and he heard "17"). He even passed it to a man on my right for him to play ! Later in the show, that's Scott who came on the edge of the stage to hand the pad to several people, including Stephen and myself.

The highlight of the night came with a perfectly played Mound. That was the second song Stephen heard during soundcheck. I really love the way they play those Phish songs with extended parts and new arrangements like the vocal "Time Time" break. Scott was killing in the intro !

Again this night, they gifted us with a new cover : Toys R Us by the Greyboy Allstars. It's good to see that they really wanted to do something special for this festival and we all appreciated.

As the end of the set was approaching, I clearly saw someone backstage give Mike a sign that there was 8 minutes left. But they were already waving and the left early. This was the shorter set of the three nights, the recording is 84 minutes long.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch the setlist to complete my collection but Stephen got Mike's pick.

And that was it. Mike Gordon stepped off stage and I don't know when I'll be able to attend another concert.

Continue reading...

Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 2 - Mike Gordon

by Yome NetSan 30. March 2012

Thursday 15th march 2012 @ 24:00

I have waited 15 years to see Mike Gordon and now I'm about to witness my second show in two days !

Playing the last concert of this second day at Jam in the Dam, Mike had the headlining spot tonight with a late night set starting at midnight. I hoped that, without any band after them, they would stretch their set a little but it lasted exactly 90 minutes.

Starting with Sugar Shack and Can't Stand Still, I felt confident to live-tweet the setlist, thanks to the free Wifi access inside the Melkweg. But I found myself lost as soon as they went through the first cover. No, I don't know every Beatles song... So I did my best and wouldn't even care if I didn't spell the titles right.

But my first goal was to enjoy the music anyway. Since the beginning of the festival, I felt rather lucky with the songs selection (Zelda by Lotus, Meat by Mike and Birds by Keller) and Mike made me another present with Funky Bitch ! I love that tune and Scott Murawsky's guitar was ripping and jamming !

Continue reading...

Amsterdam : Third day and signing session

by Yome NetSan 29. March 2012

Thursday 15th march 2012 @ 8:00

My son had no will to let me sleep. He woke me up at 8 and we went straight to breakfast.

As it would be the most sunny day of our stay, our today's goal was to walk to the Dam and then to take the bus tour to see the city. But arriving at Amsterdam Centraal Station, I realized that the tickets had been forgotten at the hotel !

11:00

So we took the tram back to Leidseplein and staid in a park between the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. As we finally had less money than expected, we wanted to eat cheap. After looking for different snack, we ended up eating at Burger King quite often !

There were lots of cinemas with french movies, even some we didn't actually know !

 

18:00

As tonight was the night of the signing session at Jam in the Dam, I arrived first at the Melkweg. Stephen arrived soon after me with his bass and a friend. His goal was to get Mike Gordon to sign his bass. But he had to deal with another worry because, the previous day, he got a pass which had two holes. That means he got a one-day-only pass although he had bought a full-festival ticket months ago ! After asking several peoples who couldn't help him, he finally got a guest wristband so he could enter freely for the 2 remaining evenings.

19:00

The doors opened and we went inside the building to find a lot of tables and chairs with Keller Williams and the members of Dark Star Orchestra and moe. waiting for us. They were very nice and welcoming (maybe because I was one of the first in line).

Lotus was still soundchecking in the Oude Zaal hall so they arrived a little later, one by one, except for keyboardist Luke Miller.

But wait, where is Mike ? So sign of him nor his bandmates. Stephen and I were waiting in the middle of the line, looking in every direction. 

We eventually met Junipa Contento, the artist who drew the poster and she nicely signed it too. I actually met her the day before as I was waiting in the hall. Strangely, she had gone right to me to talk about her broken nails !

But Mike still wasn't there... We talked to one of the Jam in the Dam man (can't remember his name, maybe Tim) who told us Mike was invited to come but he didn't know why he wasn't there. Stephen gave him his bass to get it sign by Mike backstage.

We were very disappointed not to meet Mike's band but anyway, we were here for the music. I hope next time will be the good one !

I went out to my hotel to store the poster and get some food and went back for second night of jamming !

Amsterdam : Jam in the Dam 1 - Mike Gordon

by Yome NetSan 23. March 2012

Wednesday 14th march 2012 @ 22:00

If you follow this blog, you should know that I've never been to a Phish concert although I've maybe listened to all of them. Of course, I've never been to a side-project show neither. That's why I decided a year ago to come at Jam in the Dam to see Mike Gordon. And at last, after so many years, the time had come !

While the crew was setting up the stage, we got plenty of time to look at Mike's bass and pedals. It was so strange to be less than 2 meters from his instrument after watching so much video for 15 years. And then, the man came.

In pure Phish/Mike tradition, he didn't say a word and started playing Horizon Line. I was right in front of the stage but wasn't realizing I had a Phish member in front of me, again less than 2 meters away. The stage was high (like up to my shoulders) and there wasn't any space between it and the crowd. So we could actually put our stuff, like my photo camera, on the stage !

The drawback was that even if the band was very close, it was so high that it seemed distant. It was a strange feeling, almost like watching yet another DVD. Actually, we were so close that we could hear the music coming right from each amp, but the vocals were unclear.

Anyway, we could greatly appreciate the show which was mind blowing. There were covers that I knew from past Mike recording and some I didn't. It later came to my knowledge that one of the songs, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim, was a first time for Mike's band. I also got to hear my first Phish song played live : Meat. Guitarist Scott Murawski was on fire all night and the two drumer/percussionist Todd Isler and Craig Myers completed each other perfectly. Don't Do It , sung by keybordist Tom Cleary, was also a great song and Dig Furthur Down is one of my favorite. But the jam that occurred during the Idea closer really set the bar high.

 

 

But it was too short. The show seemed to end as soon as it started. It took me several minutes to gather my mind again and this day will stick in my head for years.

 

Setlist :
Horizon Line >
Voices,
Sailin’ Shoes,
Emotional Railroad,
Meat,
You Don’t Mess Around With Jim*,
Dig Further Down,
Don’t Do It,
River Niger >
Idea

* First Time Played (Jim Croce cover)

 

 

Right on time, 2 recording of this show are available here :

 

 

Continue reading...

Jam in the Dam : Night 3

by Yome NetSan 18. March 2012

I'm back in France from Jam in the Dam in Amsterdam.

 

Friday was the last night of the festival and Mike Gordon opened in the Max Hall. Great show as usual with a little help from the audience.

After this, I went to the small room to see Keller Williams jamming with one half of Dark Star Orchestra !

I then stayed to see the full Dark Star Orchestra recreating the Grateful Dead show from 5/10/1972 in Amsterdam.

I hop off mid-second set to dance my ass off to the end of Lotus set. Those men are really awesome !

 

Here are some quick pictures before full reports and all my photos in the next days.

Jam in the Dam : Night 2

by Yome NetSan 16. March 2012

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that a signing session was planned at the opening of the Melkweg. I arrived very early and was first in line, soon joined by Stephen, the Vita guy that I met the previous night. He also is the one who bought the poster number 1!

When the doors open the members of Dark Star Orchestra, moe. and Keller Williams were here. They were nice and happy to be at Jam in the Dam. Lotus arrived also but no sign of Mike Gordon. We were very disappointed, especially Stephen who brought his bass to get it signed!

Anyway, the rest of the evening was great with a Phish cover from Keller, a sit in by the same man during the amazing moe.'s set and a great Mike show closer.

 

Jam in the Dam : Night 1

by Yome NetSan 15. March 2012

Just a quick review from Amsterdam where the first night of Jam in the Dam took place yesterday at the Melkweg.

I arrived early and had to wait until 7 to finally get my Pass and enter the Melkweg. I rush to the store to grab the limited edition poster that will be sign by the bands tomorrow. I got number 2 of 300! As we can freely come in and out with our pass, I rush back to my hotel just behind to get free of the poster, jacket and hat before the show.
I sat in front of the stage beside a guy playing with a PlayStation Vita. We ended up talking during all the evening, he's an american guy living in Amsterdam since 2009. During the wait I managed to lost half of my photo camera's batteries bellow the stage! I finally got another one from Brad, one of the taper.

The show started at 8 with Lotus . The band was simply amazing! They jammed furiously and they even played what I knew them for at the beginning : 2 themes for the video game Zelda .
Then, came the man because of whom I'm here : Mike Gordon. I finally got to be at a Phish member show and it was awesome. This band knows how to jam! We got great covers and long solos. I even witness my first Phish song live and it's one of my favorite : Meat. At the end of the show, I managed to grab the setlist and take a little break before going to the smaller room.
Dark Star Orchestra was ending their first set when I arrived and they came back a few minutes later. I don't know every Grateful Dead song so most of the show was new for me. They stretched most of the songs with lengthy jams and solos. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward for Friday show where they will recreate the Dead show in Amsterdam from 1972.

Of course, I'll write more about those nights when I'm back in France and post the pictures I took with my real photo camera. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter as have a free WiFi access inside the Melkweg for live tweeting!

Final (?) schelude for Jam in the Dam

by Yome NetSan 7. March 2012

Here is my final (?) schelude for Jam in the Dam next week. I'm pretty sure it won't stand still. but the goal is to see all Mike Gordon shows and at least one show of the 4 other bands.

I'm a little bit disapointed that Mike doesn't have more that 1,5 hour each night while moe. have 2, Lotus have 2 on the last night and Dark Star Orchestra 3 or 4 hours !




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