Allofasudden's Best of 2007

I like all these tunes. Enjoy! Best, Sean Disclaimer: May not be the absolute best songs of the year, but all of them are definitely worthy of a couple listens. Warning: To these bands and/or any band planning a 2008 release, AllofaSudden's 1st full length album will coming out this year. It will be a very solid and inspired piece of work to have to stand next to. Paddle at your own risk.less

Panic at the Paramount!

Peter's 35th!

There was amazing food, awesome friends, drinks, Beer pong, dangerous looking darts, great music, and of course babies. Thank you Peter for turning 35 and throwing an awesome party at your new amazing house!



One of the Major Jams of the night with Josh Dansen on Meghan's drum and DAvid Pincus ripping on the flute


If you missed it or just need to relive it, here's the Deep Ellum Blues


Here's the Sample - don't pay any attention to me and Paula talking directly into the microphone.



And of course, the cake, if you were too drunk to remember it

Summer Camp '07 (the roo)

Going to Bonnaroo this year was like going back to summer camp. Sean and I met up with all the familiar faces from last year, minus a few and plus a coulpe others, only to work our asses off and enjoy some of the festival. This year was especially awesome because Widespread Panic was back at the roo closing it out so not only did we get to see tons of really good bands but we also were able to start out summer panic tour off with by far the biggest show we have ever seen them play.

We went out a few days earlier than last year and started work immediately Sunday afternoon. After non stop checkin for vendors and employees, monday evening we finally got to go up on site for a little golf cart ride. Sunset was beautiful and we got ot go experience the campground before it got filled up. This year I actually saw some of the PODS instead of just hearing about them. PODS are places where each campsite can go for water and medical attention. They provide a theme for the campsite and campers. I kinda think of them as doing the same thing the RAs did in the dorms. This POD was called Enchanted Stringdom. They told me they had spent over $500 in yarn by Thursday when the Festival officially opened.

here it is just getting started but here it is in full effect:



This year Bonnaroo changed the credentials around a little bit. They made it a little more strict so we weren't allowed to go on the main stage like last year, but we still had an amazing time. I missed the view of the site from way up high though and being able to see all the people gathering for the show. I still got a few good crowd shots though.





So the little bit of the festival we did get to see was incredible. One of m,y favorite things about festivals is being introduced to new music that you would never really get a chance to see otherwise. This year that was Dr. Dog for me. They remind me of a mix between The Band and The Beatles. All the members are really good musicians and I love that they switch up singing. Here is a clip from the show.




they played on Saturday afternoon and right after them Sean and I walked over to another tent to cath The Slip because our friend Tim Lanterman is their tour manager and we wanted to seem him. Right as we got there I asked some roadie to tap Tim on the shoulder for me so we could tell him that we were there and instead he just let me and Sean go up on stage and stand next to him. That was totally cool because even though we could get side stage and backstage, I had never been on the stage. Of course the sound isn't as good there but the view is incredible and looking out at the crowd is totally cool too. Here is some of The Slip from that view.



That's Tim in the blue shirt.

Back tracking a couple days, another really cool thing about this year was that music actually started Thursday and went late. Last year, Sean and I never made it up to the site on Thursday and this year we got to go see Rodrigo y Gabriella Thursday night. This is a short little clip of what the show looked like with their projections behind them. It was really cool.



Thursday night we also got to check out the Silent Disco which I missed last year and the new dicoteque arcade which was really cool. It had lcd dance floors. Right as we were leaving they started a mash up of Panic's Pleas with some electronic dance beats.






I'm really bummed I didn't get to see Wolfmother but I didn get to see Ween and they rocked out pretty hard to a packed tent Staurday afternoon.



That damn Shrek balloon was in every shot from where we were sitting. Sean had the bright idea to pull the golf cart up around the outside of the tent and just sit on it and listen to Ween because the sound outside the tent is so much better than the sound from side stage. It ended up being really nice out there but at first we were right next to a bunch of people passed out or just really old an d tired.

Speakin of passed out people, we ended up standing almost ontop of one during the Gov't Mule show. This show was definitley THE show of Bonnaroo. Everyone came out during the set and the mule rocked so hard. Sean and I only stayed for the first half of it because I wanted to catch the end of Flaming Lips because I had never seen them, but it was still amazing. We were there for Bob Weir's guest appearance and they did Sugaree then Loser. Sean is under the impression that he is a musical genious because he called the Loser from like the second note. It was impressive, but I think he might have only been yelling out what he wanted to hear. Through our awesome team work, Sean and I got 11 minutes of the Sugaree on video. My arm started to get really tired after about 7 minutes so Sean took over in an almost seamless camera hand over.



From here we jetted over to the Which Stage to catch the lips and it was quite a spectacle. I didn't really expect to see such a show with all the confetti and lasers and stuff. I think from where we were, way back in the bleachers, the stage looked incredible but it seemed to be morea bout the show than the music and personally I like to see the music rather than a huge preformance and tons of people shining their annying red lasers on a big white balloon. Anyway, it did look cool, here's a little clip.



What was really cool about the Flaming Lips though was their sound check that absolutley rocked. After the Police, I was exhausted and wanted tp go home, but instead I went out back behind the guest compound and foudn an empty hammock where i promptly fell asleep for the best 40 mintue nap of my life. Right before I fell asleep, Sean and I were lying in it together and all the sudden we hear a huge War Pigs coming from the second stage where no one was scheduled to be on yet. IT turned out to be The Flaming Lips sound check and it was incredible.

There were lots more fun shows and awesome times. By Sunday our work was basically done so we got to go up to the site pretty early in the day and run around. It was hot as hell so Sean decided he had to go in the Centeroo fountain which earlier in the weekend probably would have been an amazing idea, but by Sunday it just seemed gross.




We ended the weekedn just like we did last year with a huge golf cart caravan through the site. Because Sean and I had just come from an amazing Panic show where Schools was sporting the Independent shirt, we were yelling Golf Cart City, No Bad Rides the whole time. Apart from the dust and nearly killing ourselves by being thrown off from a golf cart, it was tons of fun. This year we made it back to the hotel room way before the sun came up which was really nice.



All the ladies of the Credentials department except for our fearless leader Ruth, got a nice shot together on one golf cart



We managed to get one pic together in front on Manu Chau


Bonnaroo was a blast and I can't wait till Summer Camp next year when I get to go back

Sometimes I say No, No Don't Stop

It's been a long weak and a tough one from which to recover. The first three days, the 3rd to the 5th, Sean, me, and a bunch of friends spent in Tahoe partying and seeing Panic. The venue was amazing and small. The sound was great and the band was directly in front of our faces. We met some new friends, namely this dude Trip and his crew who we ended up standing right next to and behind each night. The first night it was kinda cool because he was calling every song right on, but the next two nights he was so off, it was both funny and disappointing, especially when he yelled super loud "Dirty Business" when they were going into Christmas Katie (both in D minor). Well I guess it's time to get down to business:

We left super early on the third to carpool up to our cabin with Doug, Jason and Mark. We got the keys to the cabin. We went to the grocery store and bought beer, boozed, and bacon. The first oversight of the trip was neglecting to bring speakers for the ipod. Sean assumed there would be a stereo but there wasn't. Luckily we figured out how to run it through the speakers in the TV. Go Jason!

It's been about a week since my Panic summer has ended, but all the shows were amazing. We did get a lot of repeats, especially the new songs, and I never got a None of Us are Free, but Tahoe was great. Oversight #2: Sean and I made a T-shirt for the song "Casa del Grillo". We were joking with David a few months ago about how everyone has a shirt for the song they like and they wear it when the song is looming and likely to be played that night. Then, it comes on and all the surrounding people slap him on the back and talk about how psyched they are for him. The joke was that whenever Casa comes on, people take a bathroom break. So after some discussion, we decided they would probably play it the 2nd night and they broke it out on Night 1. I was disapointed that they played it a night before Sean planned to wear the shirt. In Sean's words, "It's a wizzer tune" but only a handful of people understood the shirt when he wore it the next night.

So I guess now for the set lists.

Monday July 3:
Set 1:
Pleas, North, Rock, Little Lilly, Sleeping Man, Pappa Johnny Road, Casa Del Grillo, Sometimes, Thought Sausage

Set 2:
All Time Low, I just kissed My Baby (with a Night People rap), Wondering, Stop Go, Bears Gone Fishin, a super dirty drums, Porch Song > Impossible > Last Dance (and I swear back into Impossible, but some sources claim not)

Encore: May Your Glass Be Filled, Going Out West

The highlights for me were the Going out West which I thought they were going to save for Berkeley, Sleeping Man because I love when Schools sings, and I just kissed my Baby. Of course the super hits were awesome and Sam Holt was onstage from Porch Song through the end of the second set. Holt really adds a lot to that song, which I'm sad to say George just doesn't pull. I"m totally team George, love his new haircut, and love when he smiles, I even like Doreatha, but please give me Sam Holt on Porch and Surprise as well as a few others any day.

The show on the 4th was actually kind of a bummer. I think the band was more drunk than anyone else at the show. It was Sunny's Birthday so the drums were out of control; we even had a mini drums in the first set. I guess I was just expecting the show on Tuesday to blow me away and instead they noodled their way through songs and tried to pretend like they delivered a show by capping off sets with an Action Man and Coconuts. Please! Mellow Panic is cool, Spacey Panic is cool, but they can't pretend like they rocked when they didn't. Jb even walked off the stage well ahead of the rest of the band during Papa's Home in the second set, sat on the side of the stage and put on Sunglasses. Whatevs. The show started at 11:30 and I know they must have been drinking whiskey all day. Anyway, le show:


Set 1:
Better Off, Chainsaw Shitty, Worry > drums >jam > monstrosity, travilin lite, Bayou Lena, Christmas Katie ("even on the 4th of July") > Action Man

I mean, someone please tell me which of these songs they thought was the one that I was supposed to be excited about. Where was the heat cuz I could of spent the whole first set in the bathroom or at the slot machines out front. Actually a lot of people didn't even make it back into the venue for the second set, that's how hot it was...

Set 2:
Fishwater, Timezones, Good People, Travelin Man > You Should be Glad, Pappas Home > Drums > Pappas Home, Blue Indian, Tall Boy

Encore: Old Joe, Coconuts

Um...snore. Where was the Vacation that everyone wanted, should have happened, and Sean, David, and I all know we heard them attempt to go into before the switched over to You Should be Glad? Come on boys! We sit through the Travelin Man for the Vacation. All jokes aside, the Coconuts was fun, everyone loved it and the show the next night was HOT.

July 5th Set 1:
From the cradle, Pigeons, Sleeping Monkey, Solid Rock, Bust it big > Cream Puff War, Down, Don't want to Lose You, Conrad the Catapillar

Set 2:
Imitation Leather Shoes, Jack, Ribs and Whiskey, Blight, Nebulous, Big Wooly Mammoth, Drums > Low Spark > Walkin > Low Spark, Space Wrangler

Encore: Expiration Day, Who Do You Belong To

Ok, where do I start? My First Blight ever? The awesome Low Spark sandwich? My first Sleeping Monkey? A Beautiful Expiration Day? Ths Cream Puff which was sooooooo hot? The Big Wooly which was hot but slighly screwed? I don't know if Jojo meant to never say the one line everyone wants or if Todd hit the drum just a tad too early, but no one ever got a light. Probably safer for the band. Everything about this show I loved. It was new, it was Panic, and a great way to end Tahoe. It definetly left me shaking my head saying No no Don't stop...I'll see you in Berkeley.

Panic at the Wiltern

Last night I was front row at Widespread Panic at the Wiltern in LA. I was standing basically right in front of Schools, at times I was between JB and Schools. The show was amazing, the band sounds really tight and smooth. John Keane has been playing this whole tour with the band, leading me to wonder what is happening. Are they replacing George? (I hope not). I can't say that Keane really added or detracted from the show. The only noticeable difference is that JoJo seemed to be missing except for the Bust it Big, which they didn't even go into the Rosemary's baby rap at the end. George also was quite silent during the whole show. He sang one verse of one song, I think it was Fixing to Die. George did have great moments on the guitar, but nothing like he's done in the past. It could have been I didn't notice it as much because I was too enthralled with School's new dance moves he was showing off, but normally I think George makes himself known. JB and Keane kept facing off leaving George all by himself. George was sporting a new short haircut. So here's the set list:

Set 1:
Can't Get High
Walk On
Pickin up the Pieces
This part of Town
Knocking Round the Zoo
Pigeons
Better Off
Timezones
Bust it Big

JB closes the set with "We'll talk later"

Set 2:
Solid Rock
Tortured Artist
Space Wrangler
Walkin
Heaven
Imitation Leather Shoes > a big jam
Drums (with george for the first bit)
Fixin to Die
Ribs and Whiskey
Mr. Soul

Encore:
From the Cradle
Fishwater (with Taylor Hicks on harmonica)

The last Better off was in 2001 so it was exciting to get to see it. I have to admit, on paper the first set doesn't look as hot as it actually was. Can't get High, Picking up the Pieces, and this part of Town all in the first 4 songs isn't the opening combo I would ever ask for, but it was actually really nice and fun. It seems that they eased into the whole show which is preferable to slowing it down at the end.

The entire second set was awesome, except for the Tortured Artist, which actually turned out nice because I was able to make a run for the bathroom while there was no line. I'm glad we got a Heaven and Imitation rather than a City of Dreams. I can only imagine what's going to go down the next two nights but I know Tahoe and Berkeley are going to be amazing.

Now, can I mention Taylor Hicks??? Apparently he is from Georgia so maybe he knew Panic already. He definitely was rocking out and looked like he had a great time. When they put an extra mic on stage, I was wondering who could be coming out, there were rumors Jerry Joseph was in town, but then I saw a head full of salt and pepper and immediately knew it was the American Idol guy, of course, because we were in LA. I think it was a perfect and strange guest appearance. The best part was that he totally proved himself capable of being up there with them. He never sang, which was good because there is no way I would want to hear him over JB, but he killed the harmonica. I almost want to hear more Panic songs with harmonica. Overall, everyone got a big laugh out of him up there, but had to stop laughing and start pumping fists pretty early in the song.

This was my first Panic show basically solo. It was fun, I met some really nice people up in the front, and some total weirdos. One guy threatened to squeeze me out of my spot while his leg was up on the banister doing some kind of stretches. Luckily I squeezed him out and didn't have to be around his spasmadic dancing. Anna, Merrit, Daryl and Rob were there although Daryl and Rob didn't get bracelets for the floor so I really didn't see them. For an LA show, there was no big LA crew or post panic hang, but I did experience wookie ville in the parking lot, finally. And, uh, I could have gone without ever seeing it. I chickened out and didn't bring my camera in, but I will have it in Tahoe and Berkeley. It was a really good show, and I'll leave my final judgements about the new band lineup until after I see a few more shows.

Update: So the new rumor I heard is that George has carpul tunnel and that is why John Keane is playing with them. I hope this is just a rumor and not true. I love George!

Bonnaroo

Sean and I just got back from working and enjoying Bonnaroo. All in all it was an amazing week; we saw great music, made friends and contacts, and avoided most of the wookies. Even though we were working long hours in the beginning and didn't get to see all the music we wanted, the all access passes we had made up for it. We never had to stand in front of a stage or tent trying to hold a spot to see the show. Instead, we worked up until a show started, were given a golf cart to drive up to site, and walked to the side of the stage to watch the acts. We also had access to the artist compound where there was unlimited free beverages, among other things.

The weather was hot and nice. Traditionally it rains at least most of one day of the festival leaving people to trudge through calf-high mud. This year was filled with sunshine; it was so great to get out of SF and take part in what people know as summer. It did manage to rain before the festival was over, but only during part of the second set of the last act on Sunday, Phil Lesh and Friends, during New Speedway Boogie. I watched the song from the guest bleachers with Chris because it's one of my fave dead tunes. Sean decided to run into the artist tent and avoid the rain which was probably the smarter idea considering we didn't make it back to the hotel room until 8am. I had to stay and watch Joan Osborne finish the song. She was great and the rain actually felt good. After the song I ran into the tent to meet up with Sean, L.A., and the rest of the work crew.

We chilled on a couch, watched the feed on a big tv, listened to the set through speakers hung throughout, and made the most of our last hour of free bar service.

Here's the rest of Phil's show as far as we remember:

Set 1 : Uncle John's Band, Cumberland Blues, Big River, Scarlet Begonias, Fire on the Mountain, All along the Watchtower, I know you Rider

Set 2: Shakedown Street, New Speedway Boogie, the other one, Gimme Shelter, Not Fade Away, Till the Midnight Hour, Franklin's Tower

Encore: Liver Rap, Band Intros, Box of Rain



We didn't expect that we would want to stay for the whole show, but it was actually good. Every song was a hit and with Joan Osborne singing, the vocals are terrific. Phil started out singing lead the first few songs just to remind everyone why we wanted Joan up there. John Scofield and Larry Campbell are excellent musicians that only added to the whole show. Phil ended up being way better than expected whereas another show on the main stage, Radiohead, though really good and interesting, failed to blow my mind. It goes to show that one's enjoyment of a show so depends on their expectations.

Radiohead was a good show, they just failed to prove to me why so many people love them. Their lighting was impressive and theatrical and they sounded good. Many of the songs proved they could rock and impress, however Tom York's whining style of singing just doesn't captivate me and his crazy spasmadic "dancing" kinda freaks me out; I feel uncomfortable for him. I really liked all their sampling and the show as a whole, I just don't know how ready I am to pay to see them.

The other band Sean especially wanted to check out live was My Morning Jacket. It was a late night show Friday night from around 12 to 4 and was definetly one of the highlights of the whole festival. Friday night was really the first time any of us got to go see music becuase we had been working 18 hour days off site in an airconditioned conference room of the Holiday Inn. We missed the beginning of the show because we checked out Lyrics Born who was awesome. His rhymes are so melodic and the hooks totally stick to the sides of your mind. His band was great and included Kat on keys. We remembered her from a Crown City Rockers show at the Independent a few weeks previous and love her presence as well as her playing.

After his set, we headed over to one of the other tents to check out My Morning Jacket. We were just blown away. It was a big show among the industry poeple and there was a really big crowd behind the stage. We found it difficult to get a spot to watch but we spent a few songs on the sidestage area and then kicked it in the back area where we could talk to people and still hear the songs. it was a striking image onstage. All the guitars and all the reverb; the lights and the guy onstage with the huge hair and crazy voice. It was sick. The swelling sounds and textures were full and powerful but not washed out and droning like their first album. Their songwriting is so strong. We stayed for about an hour and tried to leave during the encore. As soon as we walked out of the tent, Sean and I had to turn back around as we heard the beginning licks to "Loving Cup". So we staayed for a few more tunes after that as well but I heard we missed them do a band song. Because Friday was our first night of freedom, we wanted to run around and check everything out. I do wish we had seen more of MMJ's set, but we were having fun.

Saturday we got off work early and headed up to site while it was still light. We cruised the campground and shakedowen before heading to see Gomez. It was fun to see them up close and finally know a lot of their songs. Two days earlier Ian had come in to artist check-in and I talked to him for a quick second before he headed up to see some music. We watched most of the show from the side stage, but because it was so nice out and Sean wanted to meet up with Tyler, we headed out into the crowd and the sun to watch the rest of their set. I think I realized then the benefits to wtaching the show from the front. The sound is way better and we still were close enough to see the band really well. After Gomez we cruised around Centeroo a bit and heard Beck going off on the main stage.

We wanted to see Jason before he took off so we ended up back in the same tent as Gomez to catch some of Les Claypool. Sean and I have both seen Les before with his different bands, and keeping in mind I never saw Primus live, I think this was the best show I've seen of his. He and Skerik were facing off

while Gabby Lala and the dude on Vibes kept facing off.

Skerik was actually playing a lot of his sax instead of just holding it and screaming weird sounds into the mic, although there was plenty of that too. The whole band was wearing black shirts that said fancy (because they are, duh). Post Les was dinner and Radiohead with the whole crew, and then Sean and I made the choice to skip Dr. John and head right over to the tent for SuperJam.

The SuperJam was Tre Anastasio, Mike Gordon, and the Benevento-Russo Duo (Marco and Joe). It was good we headed over there early because we got nice spot at the side of the stage. Marco's Leslie was blocking part of our view of Tre and Mike, but by the third song we had moved over to see them. I kinda liked where we were because we had an awesome view of Joe Russo who I've never really watched and he is amazing, making himself known but also keeping everything relatively steady. The show was remanicsent of Phish however there is an entirely different dynamic with these four. Marco was able to keep Tre from taking over but Tre was still able to melt your mind. And it was cool to see Mike playing between both Marco's and Tre's dominance. Everything was new, except for Two Tre songs Mr. Completely and Drfting, and makes me want to hear more.

Sunday we saw part of Moe. and part of Bonnie Rait's set. Bonnie Rait is a classy broad! as well as a great slide guitarist. I had goose bumps during John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" and of course she threw in "Something to Talk About". Raitt dedicated a song to one of her heroes, Steve Earl, who was playing at the same time across the festival, so Sean and I couldn't check him out, but I hear he is one of guitar's greats.

After that we had dinner and of course saw Phil. Sunday night we took a caravan with all the staff through the camp ground and finally got to relax because there was no more work to be done.

All in all it was a great week full of music and we both learned a lot. We hope to be back next year, but will see some of the same people in a couple weeks at panic shows (I mean you Steve Lopez).