And The Award For Best Halloween Costume Goes To........Jim James!!!

Happy Halloween folks.  My Morning Jacket played a show in their hometown of Louisville, KY earlier this week at the "KFC Yum! Center".  Worst venue name ever by the way.  Well with Halloween approaching Jim made the best out of that terrible name by dressing up as Colonel Sanders during the show.  Check out the video below and go to The Steam Engine to download the show.

New to Me: Fanfarlo

Fanfarlo formed out of London in 2006 and released their debut album 'Reservoir' in 2008.  Their sound, reminiscent of the Arcade Fire with horns, I've heard described as 'upbeat and whimsical indie-pop'.  Now that they're on my radar I'll definitely be on the lookout for their future releases and travels.  Below you can hear a track off the iTunes Sessions Live EP.
 Fanfarlo - Finish Line (Live) by Ledjam311

New Song from Freelance Whales

Freelance Whales recently contributed a new song called "Enzymes" to a music collection sponsored by Mountain Dew called Green Label Sound.  Take a listen below or head to their website to download it for free.

 Freelance Whales - Enzymes by Ledjam311

Concert Review: The Avett Brothers - Pier Six, Baltimore 10/16/10

">

It was a cool & breezy October evening along the Inner Harbor when The Avett Brothers took to the stage.  I'm sure the stage was plenty warm though after Grace Potter & The Nocturnal's smoking opening set. The Avett Bros put together a well crafted set of material spanning their entire career. Admittedly I'm mostly familiar with their recent releases but I really enjoyed hearing some of their older material for the first time. Scott and Seth Avett have a lot of energy on stage and it seemed to flow into the crowd in the form of dancing and spontaneous ho-downs. This also marked the first time I've seen a cello player lift his instrument over his head and play it behind his back. It'll probably be the last time too, unless I go to see them again.

Setlist:
Talking Blues
The Fall
Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
Die, Die, Die
Down with the Shine
Jenny on a Summer Day
Backwards with Time
In the Curve
Paranoia in B Flat Major
January Wedding
Tin Man
Pretty Girl from Michigan
Murder in the City
At the Beach
And it Spread
Talk on Indolence
I and Love and You
Kick Drum Heart
Perfect Space
Blue Ridge Mountain Song
Laundry Room
encore:
Pretty Girl from Annapolis
Just Like a Woman (Bob Dylan cover)
Slight Figure of Speech

Atomic Tom - Live on the NYC Subway

As the video describes, Atomic Tom had their studio broken into earlier this month and their instruments were stolen.  Well the guys certainly know how to make the best out of a bad situation.  The impromptu video seems to be garnering a good amount of attention and could lead to bigger and better things for the band.  I just hope that their lack of instruments doesn't keep them away from touring for too long.  Their debut album "The Moment" is among my favorite releases of 2010 thus far.  Check out the video and keep track of the band.  They're really gracious and nice guys who are making some damn good music.

My Morning Jacket - Late Night Vids

Here are the videos from MMJ's performances on Letterman and Fallon last week.  This week the band embarks on an epic 5 night stint at New York's Terminal 5.  The band will play an album per night in it's entirety along with other songs from that era each of the 5 nights.

MMJ News: Late Night Performances & New Album Talk

The beginning of this week is going to be eventful for My Morning Jacket fans.  Tomorrow night (Tuesday the 12th) the band will be performing on the Late Show with David Letterman.  Fans can catch a Live Webcast on the Late Show's website tomorrow at 8pm ET before the show's broadcast.  Then on Wednesday night the band will perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  

And if that isn't enough, a SPIN Magazine article posted Monday interviews MMJ bassist Tom "Two-Tone Tommy" Blankenship about the bands upcoming album.  The album is slated for an early 2011 release and will reportedly include the song "Wonderful" which has appeared at live performances over the years but never on an album.

Here's a recording of "Wonderful" from the Merriweather Post Pavillion last May:

 My Morning Jacket - Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Ledjam311 

Concert Review: The XX - Merriam Theater, Philadelphia 10/4/10

Following impressive and powerful performances by Zola Jesus and Warpaint, a curtain was lowered over the stage with a massive letter "X" in the center.  After the theater lights turned off the curtain was released and feel to the stage floor just as the band played their first note.  An array of lighting effects and a sound system that pulsated through the theater making chairs and bones vibrate created the ideal atmosphere to showcase this incredible band.  The only downside was that their set was relatively short, roughly 50 minutes.  I'm exited to hopefully hear some new material in the future and check out The XX in concert again.