Don't Wake the Scarecrow

Not a typical “Download Now” since these aren’t really available for download….but they are available online for free. Streaming on their host website. Be sure to check them out if you’re looking to kill time or just want to see great, independent films about music.

Click the image to watch the movie for free!

Before the Music Dies
A wonderful documentary about the music industry and the increase in commercialization. Many different artists discuss different aspects of the working musician nowadays. I caught this film at Bonnaroo a few years ago and was blown away. many great performances and awesome interviews with people like Dave Matthews, Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, and more. Watch this for an awesome point of view on the good and bad music being made.

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One of My Kind
The tale of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. This free documentary was released with the debut of Causecast….a nice little website you should also check out. Anyway this has footage of the band coming together and going to Mexico city and making music. It’s a cool look behind the scenes of one of the best artists making music today.

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Jimi Hendrix
A link from Snagfilms.com that tells the story of Jimi Hendrix’s life from the people that were around him. Many interviews to give you an idea of Jimi growing up and his family life with some cool footage. Jimi Hendrix is a rock legend and guitar god, if you don’t know about him I suggest you watch this and go buy Axis: Bold as Love right away.

Just added a bunch of photos and videos from the Dead Weather show at Terminal 5 in NYC on 07-16-09. The show was phenomenal and Jack White & Co. really tore the house down. Highlights were “Will There Be Enough Water” (with Jack on guitar) and “Bone House”. There are a good amount of videos in the video section thanks to the contributions of a few different individuals.

Thanks and Credit for the videos goes to:
-KCGIG1
-jennpelly
-uviller

Sample Photo: (click to enlarge)


Click here to view the Dead Weather photo gallery.

Click the image below to head to the Dead Weather Video page.

Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut has an illustrious history and rightfully so, considering the bands who have passed through this small venue. The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, U2, Billy Joel….the list of artists goes on and on. One of the newest groups to join the list of bands that have played Toad’s is Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. The former Bright Eyes front man led his new group of 6 to an energetic and engaging night of music on the night of July 3rd, 2009.

All of the expectations I had going into the show were greatly exceeded, as Conor and the MVB played tracks from their two albums. It’s always nice to see a band that takes a recorded piece of work and turn it into something even better at live shows. Songs like “Cape Canaveral” and “Souled Out” were given unique twists, with “Cape” receiving an extended finger-picking jam from guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth (click here for video).

Being from Alabama, it’s hard not to notice Taylor’s twangy voice that fills the air during the songs “Air Mattress” and the spectacular “Snake Hill”. I was blown away by his guitar playing so much that when looking for some non MVB material online I was pleased to find that he’s been playing “Snake Hill” for years at solo performances. When it came time to record Outer South, the band’s second album, Conor was looking to his bandmates to see what kinds of songs they’ve written and I’m glad that Taylor chose to include “Snake Hill” in his submissions. It’s a memorable song that finds the narrator discussing life away from his home and why his mother warned him against leaving his place of origin (click here to see a solo performance of Snake Hill).

Conor was center stage for most of the show, taking some time to saunter over to other band members during certain songs. It seemed to increase the energy in the room each time he would be pushing his band members to rock harder. There was a small amount of stage banter, but tonight was mostly about the music. The tightly packed crowd enjoyed the fast and slow songs alike….with one standout being “Lenders In the Temple” that featured just Conor and Nate Walcott on stage, with Nate adding an ominous melody on the organ (click here for video). It was easy to see the chemistry between the two artists who have played together for years in the band Bright Eyes.

The night was capped off with a powerful version of “I Don’t Want to Die (In the Hospital)” that brought the two opening acts to the stage to join in the craziness. The band stretched this one out for a while with Conor doing a little bit of talking and interacting with the different people on stage. Overall, my first show at Toad’s was extremely memorable. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band have created two amazing albums and perform at their shows the way you expect good musicians to – by playing from their heart.

Click here to see photos from this show.
Click here to see videos from this show.

Below is an awesome interview that the Dead Weather put together recently. Gotta love LJ on the organ during the whole thing. The band answers a few questions in an interesting take on the interview process. I’ll be attending the show in NYC tonight and hope to get some good photos. Their debut album, Horehound is currently available for purchase at TheDeadWeather.com.

Also here’s a video directed by Jonathan Glazer for the song “Treat me Like Your Mother” that premiered on Cinemax recently. Glazer has worked on music videos for bands like Radiohead, Jamiroquai, and Massive Attack.

Treat Me Like Your Mother (Official Video)