oh kee pah

So all our most loved musicians are taking these gosh darn mini-tours! We talked last week about Bobby and Phil’s little tours, and Trey’s four date symphony run, but I nearly forgot that the Gordo half-run wasn’t even over. There are three more dates before he takes less than a couple weeks off to prepare for the New Years Eve run. Catch Mike Gordon and his band in Pawtucket, RI, tomorrow, in Northampton, MA, on Saturday, and in Albany, NY, on Sunday for the last night of his brief tour. To get yourself ready, check out part 2 of Brian Bavosa’s Hidden Track interview with Cactus himself. It’s a fairly no-holds-barre interview, so definitely catch up on part one before you continue reading.

Listening to the new podcasts that came out this week will also help you prepare, or perhaps motive you to find those last tickets you seek. Online Phish Tour just released the 3rd episode of their show, On Air Phish Tour. This week, Adam B. and Zim chat with PhanArt Pete, author of a compilation book of Phish related art, about Trey’s symphony tour, TreyDD, and more. Tune in for the debate, or try the slightly less hot-button issue of reviewing the Hampton/Winston-Salem release. The boys over at Type II Cast dissected the new release bit by bit, so listen to it here or read my take on it here! Many of you may have dipped out of work a few minutes early to pick up that album on Tuesday night, right around 6 o’clock, and if you did, you were one of the many, like myself, who was not sitting on Twitter when Phish announced a re-release through Ticketmaster. A few fans may have benefited, a few scalpers probably did as well, but on the whole, the re-release was ineffective and has not changed the ticket situation yet, but keep scouring cashortrade.org for those face+fees only extras.

Lastly in Phish news, CEG Presents put together a whole roster of after-parties for the New Years Run, featuring musical prodigies such as Steve Kimock, Marco Benevento, Billy Kreutzmann, and Jennifer Hartswick, and also up-and-comers from the jam scene who are sure to satisfy your after show needs. Check out phishafterparties.com for a full schedule of acts, venues, and ticket information.

A couple weeks ago, I told you about the 30 Days of Dead free download giveaway that Dead.net was doing. Admittedly, I didn’t get the memo until halfway through November, in which they were giving away a download a day, and I felt bad about not getting that to you in a more timely manner. The Dead’s got my back however, and yours, seeing that we can download the whole compilation in one place for free. It’s a mix tape of all the best songs spanning all years of their time together and from all the various venues they played at: an “Estimated Prophet > He’s Gone” from ‘78 in Ohio, for example, or 1990’s “Samson and Delilah” performed in California, just to give you a taste.

In the Umphrey’s world, we’re pretty much just gearing up for New Years Eve, but there’s a whole lot of excitement surrounding this years preparation. UM artist Nate Duval is working hard at creating the most beautiful print to celebrate the 3-night run in St. Louis, MO, which you can pre-order here. You can still get tickets to these shows here (except VIP which sold out), but snagging the poster is going to be way more difficult at the venue, and why risk carrying it around?

As another special treat before the run, Brendan and Jake are hosting their 9th Annual Acoustic Holiday Show for charity at the Park West in Chicago this Wednesday. Not only do you get a special performance by the two guitarists, but they’re opening the doors early for the 2nd Holiday Garage Sale, where you can get heavily discounted UM merchandise before the acoustic show. The show is this Saturday and you can still get regular $20 tickets or go VIP, but if you can’t make it to Chi-town, maybe head over to eBay and bid on the Umph Halloween costumes from this past Halloween run! All six costumes are up for sale, starting at $100, and come with a personalized note and autograph. The show is one for the records (download it if you haven’t already), but the mash-up costumes were pure genius; Karate Kid Rock? Pamela Anderson Cooper? I mean, come on. No wonder they’re being auctioned off.

From mini-tours to big sellers, the music world is abuzz getting ready for New Years. It’s only going to get more wild by the end of next week, so check back for updates on tickets, tours, and more, only on Oh Kee Pah! - Carly Shields 

Carly has cash for your extra. Get at her @telalovesphish.