A forgotten gem from The Band, and a Christmas Card to all my fellow MeFites.
posted by timsteil on Dec 24, 2009 - 10 comments

Thanksgiving. you know what that means. But this year, Arlo's got some competition from The Band. Scorsese's film 'The Last Waltz' chronicled their final show at the Winterland (1976-11-25). We've discussed the movie, and the album before, but that wasn't the half of it! The whole show was more than 4 hours, and thanks once again to wonderful guys at Wolfgang's Vault we can now listen to the whole damn show!
posted by mikelieman on Nov 24, 2009 - 28 comments

It started in 1956 and led in 1969 to Quicksilver Messenger Service recording the song as an entire side on the Happy Trails album. This song was later to be covered by The Doors (1970); The Band + Ronnie Hawkins (1976); George Thorogood (1978) among many. The second side also featured a composition by the same writer; performing here with Tom Petty. Hey Bo Diddley
posted by adamvasco on Oct 26, 2008 - 23 comments

The Band is one of the more user-friendly fan sites I have come across. What I appreciate most is the (unadvertised) chord charts. They are not always right but they are often not wrong. Subtle, theatrical chromaticism, your name is Mozart Robbie Robertson.
posted by St Urbain's Horseman on Oct 26, 2007 - 16 comments

At San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving 1976, The Band served turkey dinners to an audience of 5,000 and played Don't Do It, Theme from The Last Waltz, Up on Cripple Creek, The Shape I'm In, Who Do You Love, It Makes No Difference, Such a Night, Helpless, Stage Fright, The Weight, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Dry Your Eyes, Coyote, Mystery Train, Mannish Boy, Further on up the Road, Evangeline, Ophelia, Caravan, Forever Young, Baby Let Me Follow You Down, and I Shall Be Released with a ton of guests (listed in link titles). [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha on Oct 8, 2007 - 46 comments

Mickey Jones, ubiquitous yet frequently forgotten or ignored character actor (warning: WMV trailer) and drummer is the Zelig of both the '60s folk and rock scene (very recently seen in No Direction Home) and television and film, linking Don't Look Back (1996) to Don't Look Back (1967).
posted by Hat Maui on Sep 28, 2005 - 18 comments

Folk Music. Stefan Wirz and Hideki Watanabe pay homage to their favorites. Check out Hideki's Muscle Shoals page for another slice of his Americana pie. Or click on a name--Eric Von Schmidt, say--on Stefan's completist, slow loading page and wallow in pictures and stories... Then there's the Richard & Mimi Fariña website. Jan Hoiberg's Band site is another. I love labors of love.

And don't forget the Bauls of Bengal or the secrets of John Wesley Harding revealed!

And note, newsfilterians, you can now order Mickey Jone's home movies from the '66 tour, too. I'm going to see the Bobster tomorrow, so I've been thinking of these things.
posted by y2karl on Oct 3, 2002 - 18 comments

W.P. Kinsella probably the finest literary chronicler of America's National Pastime is also a master at the delicate art of being sentimental without being saccharine. The Band created some the greatest musical portraits of America ever committed to wax. Both of these artists tackle very "American" themes, yet both(excepting Band drummer Levon Helm) are Canadian. Canada is often ignored or glossed over culturally speaking, but these two examples make me think that perhaps Canadians have a unique perspective on America that helps them create such amazing portraits of the US.
posted by jonmc on Mar 8, 2002 - 16 comments