Voices inside my Head

What a wonderful party last night. Wow. Thank you so much for coming out, and celebrating the birth of our United States of America.

What a show, and how about those beautiful fireworks.

I really must tell you though that Miss Liberty's highlight from the weekend was once again hearing those excited voices of little children inside my head.

So now that Miss Liberty's crown is re-opened to the public, I want you all to come out and visit with me, and to stop by Ellis Island where so many of your grandparents and great grandparents entered our country.

So come on up, and check out the view.

Your Rock n Roll diva needs to rest now. Big week coming up at The Beach on Governors Island.

I'll be raising my torch to all the deadheads coming out to see the Dark Star Orchestra show on Saturday, July 11th to worship at the altar of the Grateful Dead.

Between now and Saturday, stay tuned for more insider music news about the All Points West Music and Arts Festival and The Beach at Governors Island.

There is a lot of beautiful music coming this summer from the teeming shores of my glorious New York Harbor.

I leave you today with a small section from Emma Lazarus' beautiful sonnet "The New Colossus" written in 1883 and, in 1903, engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside yours truly.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Freedom and Justice for all.

Miss Liberty

Mother of Exiles

Miss Liberty shouts out to her BBV. Best Brooklyn Vegan!

Hey music lovers, the other day I was bored just standing here all day in the rain, so I decided to bust out the iPhone discretely concealed inside my twenty-three foot tablet.

I popped open up the Safari app, and went straight to Brooklyn Vegan, one of my favorite music blogs and concert announcement directories. They pretty much kick the most ass when it comes to New York area music news, as well as a prime source for all things All Points West.  How does one vegan go to so many shows a night?

So I was reading BV, and I stumbled upon an article that touched on a phenomenon in music trends that I have been considering myself. The blog references an article from Relix magazine, your source for all things jam bands. The article discusses how indie rockers should not completely distance themselves from the jam scene, even if they loathe them dirty hippies. 

Dreadlocked Hippie

I have witnessed my share of dreadlocks in my day, but also have been subject to some of the tightest jeans and shortest cut-off shorts at concerts on both sides of the Hudson. Though the fashions and attitudes may be on opposite sides of the spectrum, is the music really that different? 

Just your ordinary hipsters

I mean come on, is it really that much of a coincidence that Phish’s Trey Anastasio played the 2008 All Points West, a festival that primarily featured bands under the umbrella “indie rock” : Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, CSS, etc…?

Trey Anastasio

Or, what about my friends at Liberty Event who co-produce the primarily indie-rock fest All Points West at the same time as doing primarily jam shows at Governors Island? This summer alone they will put some of the best indie rock at APW 2009 : Fleet Foxes, the National, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, etc… as well as the Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra and Keller Williams, two of the biggest representatives of jam rock at The Beach on Governors Island.

Yours truly has pondered this phenomenon for some time. Finally, thanks to the thorough investigative work of Relix magazine, there is proof that some indie artists have borrowed some aspects, here and there, from the jam band scene. Miss Liberty’s a little short on time so I will quickly highlight some APW artists who talk and show this cross-pollination.

MGMT will play All Points West on Sunday August 2 with Coldplay and the Black Keys amongst many others. Though known for being last year’s indie starlets, their music has clear psychedelic elements that stem from the Grateful Dead and arguably the long experimental jams of jam bands. The Relix article has a quote from their guitarist James Richardson, who says they once considered playing a 45-minute version “China Cat Sunflower” by the Grateful Dead.

Richardson – “"I think pretty much everybody in MGMT secretly loves jambands--well, not so secretly. We always have." (Relix)

MGMT

Or what about Vampire Weekend which plays on Friday July 31 with Beastie Boys, and many others? My fellow statue representing James Connolly in Union Park in Chicago spotted drummer Chris Tomson wearing a Phish shirt at the Pitchfork Media Music and Arts Festival, and according to Relix he did the same at Bonnaroo ’08. Relix also mentions how Tomson attended the first jam-oriented Bonnaroo ’02. 

Vampire Weekend

There may be nothing too over the top to make of all this, but it does make for an interesting discussion.  You know, the type of conversation that happens late at night, post concert, with a tall cold one.

Once again, thank you Brooklyn Vegan for the cool stories. I look forward to meeting the founding father of BV at All Points West 2009!  If you have not already been comp’d by my brothers and sisters at AEG, please contact Miss Liberty ‘cause this Rock n Roll Chica will hook you up.  I love Brooklyn and the mighty BV.

Peace and sunshine.

Miss Liberty

I’ve got a Miracle ! Dark Star Orchestra headlines THE BEACH at Governors Island

I have been standing proud for generations, yet nothing gets my butt grooving like The Grateful Dead. To this lady, they are more than just a band.

You see, loyal fans such as myself see them as a forty-year-old musical tradition that inspired its own community, legends and a general way of life.  Miss Liberty is a patriot and a lover of American Folk-Bluegrass-Jamming music so the loss of Jerry Garcia in 1995 made her copper knees weak.

Thankfully, the tremendous talents of Dark Star Orchestra have kept up the tradition of heart-felt jamming alive since 1997. The group has been called a cover band, yet I will raise my torch in salute, then smack you down if you say that in my presence. DSO’s talent and uniqueness make them musicians in their own right.

Standing tall, I have the best view of any NYC and NJ stage, and have been subject to many concerts, whether I like it or not. (Just because I’m heavy and metal, doesn’t mean I always enjoy Heavy Metal)  So with this experience, I have a thing or two to say about a good show.

DSO does not just get on stage and play the tunes of the Grateful Dead. Rather, as the Denver Post claimed, DSO is "a perfection-oriented practitioner of homage.” The channelers of the once dominating band of hippiedom get on stage each night and play, to damn-near perfection, a complete set list found in Dead history, song for song.

Like any other band that successfully spread out their career over three decades, the Grateful Dead had distinct eras over the years, from changing keyboardists to their evolving sound.

Now here’s the magic of DSO that makes me jump for joy: When Dark Star Orchestra chooses a show from ’72, they will change instruments and tweak the sound to make it sounds like it is from that era. They do whatever needs to be done to make it feel and seem like you, the audience, are actually at a Grateful Dead concert.

My favorite similarity is the uncanny physical (and of course auditory!) resemblance of rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rob Eaton to a younger Bob Weir, the member of the Dead he so greatly emulates, except, of course, for his flowing mane of long blond hair. But we can’t blame the man for that, can we?

             Bob Weir

Rob Eaton

Dark Star Orchestra has played more than 1600 shows over an almost twelve- year career, and shows no sign of ending their career. They bring me back to my younger days, and are Miss Liberty’s recommended band to bring vintage Dead shows to your children and friends. July 11th marks the second year in a row that DSO will play THE BEACH at Governors Island.

They will be joined by the one-man jam band, and their good friend, Keller Williams, who is known for busting out a Dead tune in his own sets from time to time.

Warming up the crowd for both bands will be my man, Pete Francis and Barefoot Truth.  What a line-up!

Tickets can be found here, and more information can be found here and you can be the first to hear about newly announced Governors Island shows by joining Miss Liberty’s Twitter feed.  This concert series goes weekends till October.

As always, check out my personal favorite website named after me, Liberty Event, to see what amazing shows are coming up like the All Points West Music and Arts Festival rocking me and thousands of others from July 31st to August 2nd on the other side of the river in Liberty State Park featuring Coldplay, Beastie Boys and Tool.

As always, Miss Liberty wants to remind her Dead-loving friends that drinking water prevents cotton-mouth ; )    Hydrate.  Hydrate.  Hydrate.

I’ll see you soon, honeys.

Peace, music and jam sessions…

Miss L.