The Fray covers Kayne West’s “Heartless”

My buddy Cameron got me hooked on The Hype Machine, a site that follows music blog discussions tracking the latest blogs and most popular artists. I haven’t had time to fully surf the site, but I did come across a song that was worth a quick post.

Four-piece piano rock band The Fray recently covered Kayne West’s “Heartless,” spinning their acoustic flair on the beat-driven song from West’s latest album 808s and Heartbreaks. It’s a complete change of pace from the original, but it’s definitely well received.

Check out the cover here.

Dave Matthews Band Summer 2009 Tour

I love February. And not just for the fact that winter is finally over in Florida and we’re back to enjoy 70 degree weather.

Every February Dave Matthews Band releases their summer tour dates. It’s like clockwork. Right around the time when I need to renew my membership on Warehouse, an e-mail pops up in my inbox announcing the next strand of tour dates.

This summer will mark my 11th Dave Matthews Band show (Call me obsessive, fine, but you haven’t lived until you’ve seen them live). Last year was pretty incredible because his Atlanta show fell on my 21st birthday, so it’ll be hard to top. But this year is a big year for Dave. With their first studio album in four years coming out June 2, it’s going to be a different kind of tour. I’m always hesitant about seasoned bands touring a new album, because obviously you want them to play the songs that got you hooked—Crush, Satellite, Two Step, Ants Marching, you know, the songs that embody everything the band is—but the band will most likely be promoting their new stuff. And I’m always down to groove to something different, as long as few throwbacks are tossed in the middle.

But I’m even more curious about who’s going to replace LeRoi Moore on sax since he passed last August after an ATV accident. It’s eerie thinking he’s not going to be on that stage. For the 18 some years that DMB has been touring, the band hasn’t shuffled through a slew of members. For the most part, it’s always just been Dave, Stefan, Boyd, Carter and LeRoi. (Minus the beginning 3 years when Peter Griesar was on keyboards.) And it’s rare to say that the the majority of founding members of a band are still playing together almost 20 years later. I am pumped that Jeff Coffin of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is going to stick with the band on sax through the summer tour and future projects.

But, here are the dates:

DATE	CITY	VENUE	SUPPORT
05/27/09	Darien Center, NY	Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center	Robert Randolph & The Family Band
05/29/09	Boston, MA	TBA	TBA
05/30/09	Boston, MA	TBA	TBA
06/05/09	Hartford, CT	New England Dodge Music Center	Femi Kuti and The Positive Force
06/06/09	Hartford, CT	New England Dodge Music Center	Femi Kuti and The Positive Force
06/09/09	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Molson Amphitheatre	Femi Kuti and The Positive Force
06/10/09	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Parc Jean Drapeau	Femi Kuti and The Positive Force
06/12/09	Saratoga Springs, NY	Saratoga Performing Arts Center	The Hold Steady
06/13/09	Saratoga Springs, NY	Saratoga Performing Arts Center	The Hold Steady
06/16/09	Cincinnati, OH	Riverbend Music Center	The Hold Steady
06/17/09	Maryland Heights, MO	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre	The Hold Steady
06/19/09	Burgettstown, PA	Post-Gazette Pavilion	The Hold Steady
06/20/09	Burgettstown, PA	Post-Gazette Pavilion	The Hold Steady
07/18/09	East Troy, WI	Alpine Valley Music Theatre	Umphrey’s McGee
07/19/09	East Troy, WI	Alpine Valley Music Theatre	Umphrey’s McGee
07/21/09	Wantagh, NY	Nikon at Jones Beach Theater	Old Crow Medicine Show
07/22/09	Wantagh, NY	Nikon at Jones Beach Theater	Old Crow Medicine Show
07/24/09	Hershey, PA	Hersheypark Stadium	Jason Mraz
07/28/09	Clarkston, MI	DTE Energy Music Theatre	Old Crow Medicine Show
07/29/09	Cuyahoga Falls, OH	Blossom Music Center	Old Crow Medicine Show
07/31/09	Noblesville, IN	Verizon Wireless Music Center	Hill Country Revue
08/01/09	Noblesville, IN	Verizon Wireless Music Center	Hill Country Revue
08/04/09	Syracuse, NY	Alliance Bank Stadium	Donovan Frankenreiter
08/05/09	Bethel, NY	Bethel Woods Center for the Arts	Donovan Frankenreiter
08/07/09	Virginia Beach, VA	Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater	Donovan Frankenreiter
08/08/09	Bristow, VA	Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge	Donovan Frankenreiter
08/12/09	Tampa, FL	Ford Amphitheatre	Robert Earl Keen
08/14/09	West Palm Beach, FL	Cruzan Amphitheatre	Robert Earl Keen
08/15/09	West Palm Beach, FL	Cruzan Amphitheatre	Robert Earl Keen
08/29/09	San Francisco, CA	TBA	TBA
08/30/09	Fresno, CA	Save Mart Center	TBA
09/01/09	West Valley City, UT	USANA Amphitheatre	Yonder Mountain String Band
09/04/09	George, WA	Gorge Amphitheatre	G. Love & Special Sauce and Yonder Mountain String Band
09/05/09	George, WA	Gorge Amphitheatre	G. Love & Special Sauce and Yonder Mountain String Band
09/06/09	George, WA	Gorge Amphitheatre	G. Love & Special Sauce and Yonder Mountain String Band
09/12/09	Chula Vista, CA	Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre	Switchfoot
09/13/09	Irvine, CA	Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Switchfoot
09/19/09	Scranton, PA	Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain	TBA
09/22/09	Camden, NJ	Susquehanna Bank Center	Robert Randolph & The Family Band
09/23/09	Camden, NJ	Susquehanna Bank Center	Robert Randolph & The Family Band
09/25/09	Des Moines, IA	Principal Park	Robert Randolph & The Family Band
09/26/09	Tinley Park, IL	First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre	TBA
09/29/09	Little Rock, AR	Dickey-Stephens Park	TBA
09/30/09	Kansas City, MO	Sprint Center	TBA
10/02/09	Tulsa, OK	BOK Center	TBA

I’ll probably head to West Palm Beach for the Aug. 15 show, although I secretly hope to be making enough money to make it the the Gorge. I’ve yet to make out there (It’s tough to fly across the country for a concert when you’re a poor, starving college student), and I’m really not serving my duty as a devoted fan and music lover if I haven’t seen a show there. Cause c’mon, check out the view:

There’s a strong possibility that I would see God if I went to that concert.

My internship is better than yours

I’m working in the marketing department—and by department, I mean under one person—at 352 Media Group this semester.

It rocks, to say the least.

But if you want more details (which I know you do), I’ve got a weekly journal going at Internship Ratings for my devoted followers (all 20 of you out there in Internet land.)

I know my day-to-day happenings isn’t exactly Real World material, but if you live in the Gainesville area and are thinking about interning at 352 Media (I definitely recommend it: Read the journal, you’ll see why), you’ll be able to see what it’s all about before making a committment.

Oh, and follow me on Twitter @erinever.

Pat McGee’s Live from the Southland digs deep

Eddie’s Attic has to be one my favorite venues in Atlanta. Whenever I’m in the city, I try to head to the quaint bar for some raw music. Even if I’ve never heard of the band, I’m (almost) guaranteed a decent show because 1) the acoustics rock and 2) the small setting makes for one personalized show. Essential, it’s a haven for songwriters to record a live album. (And I’m a sucker for live albums.)

But, live albums are tricky. If produced right, you feel like you’re actually in the audience, sipping a rum and coke, hanging out with your closest friends listening to some real, good music in a real, chill bar. But on the other hand, it can be a little too fluff; like when you try to hard to impress your date and you just come off as fake and phony.

Back in fall 2008, Virgina native Pat McGee trucked to Eddie’s Attic for an intimate show and recorded what became Live from the Southland, a 12-track live set of some fan favorites. Digitally released Jan. 13, it debuted No. 25 on Billboard’s Heatseakers chart and is currently sitting pretty at No. 6 Rock and No. 45 Overall on iTunes.

(I know intimate is such an overused and cliche word when it comes to doing something live in small venue, but when McGee goes into the inspiration behind “Come Back Home” about the band’s former drummer Chris Williams passing away in 2006 and Williams’ little brother, Blake, being killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq this past year, intimate is really the only word that comes to my mind.)

Live from the Southland is available for download on iTunes for $8.99—well worth it, in my personal opinion—but let’s face it: You always test drive before you buy the car. So, take a taste of Runaway (Live) for a real sense of what the album is all about.

Good, right? If you’ve been a fan of The Pat McGee Band since the original was released back in 2000 on Shine, you’re sure to be addicted to the live version. But if this is your first time coming across these guys, you’ll notice a couple things: McGee’s voice is extremely clean cut, and it’s accompanied with some pretty smooth guitar picking.

But my favorite thing about “Runaway”—as well as the rest of the tracks—is the lack of instrumentals. Live albums, especially from singer/songwriters, are supposed to focus on three things: lyrics, voice and acoustic guitar. Well, Live from the Southland does just that. It strips away the mastering and all the excess and gets to the roots of what The Pat McGee Band is all about: real rock music.

It’s refreshing.

So when you’re in the one of those moods when you just want to kick back with a glass of wine and mellow out, definitely make sure Live from the Southland pops up in your play list.

Thank you technology

I never fully appreciated everything my iTouch can do until now.

When I first got it back in July, it was an upgrade from my outdated and paint-covered 2-gig iPod Nano. The extra 14-gigs were essential to fulfilling my music needs, the touch aspect was a nice feature, the scroll through albums kept everything easily organized and the details rocked. So for the past six months, it has satisfied all my music-playing needs.

Then technology changed, and I discovered Apps. Now not only can I listen to music,  I can play games, find a place to eat, access Facebook and Gmail and check the weather all at the touch of finger. Plus, now that my Dell is dying a slow and painful death and it takes me the better part of 10-minutes just to get to the welcome screen, I can just power-up my iTouch, wait a couple seconds while finds WiFi and do all my internet searching needs. Plus, having one of these things definitely diminishes my need for a blackberry considering most every place I go has free WiFi anyway.

I always thought I was one of those people who could totally live in the 70s and be perfectly content without cellphones and computers. But that was before my iTouch reached full potential.