Music Festivals 2010: The Season Starts Now!

Followers of this site know that music festivals – particularly those that occur in the fruitful period between May and September – are a favorite topic of ours. With tickets on sale and performers being speculated on or announced for our favorite events like Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, we couldn’t wait to start our coverage [...]

Wounded Messenger’s Top 101 Albums of the Decade

I now understand the infatuation that music journalists have with making lists. As pretentious, biased, and personalized as lists are, they’re just as much fun to do. Especially this one, which I won’t purport to be the “best” albums of the decade, only my “favorite” albums of the decade. As for the number, well, I [...]

Wounded Messenger’s Top 10 Albums of 2009

Well, it’s that time of year again, where everyone from Rolling Stone to your neighbor’s pet iguana is unleashing a yearly “best of” list. As far as my list of the year’s best albums is concerned, this year is different in a couple of ways.
First, I don’t think 2009 was as aesthetically impressive as 2008 [...]

Wounded Messenger’s Best of 2009 Week Begins!

With not only a year but an entire decade of music to celebrate, we’ll be bringing you our “Best of” 2009 lists all week long. We begin with our favorite 10 live shows of the year, followed later this week by our favorite albums of the year and our 101 favorite albums of the decade.
Nothing [...]

Hip-Hop Legends Honored at All-Star Salute in Carrboro

One of the most invigorating hip-hop shows of 2009 occurred at Carrboro, NC’s Cat’s Cradle on December 12th, 2009. A chilly, drizzly Saturday night stood in contrast to the heat that was generated by the many fine performances as part of a Salute to DJ Premier and Pete Rock. It’s no exaggeration to say that [...]

Charlottesville Phish Review, Photos, and Videos

My review of the December 5, 2009 Charlottesville Phish show is now up at Glide Magazine, along with some of my wife’s photos and various YouTube videos.

Album Review: Fu Manchu – Signs of Infinite Power

It’s always a shame when once-great bands outlive their usefulness. Though some artists have forged lucrative careers by hammering away for years, even decades beyond their prime, there are some whose back catalog simply won’t allow for such half-assing. Fu Manchu is one of those bands, and Signs of Infinite Power is the final salvo [...]

Album Review: Mike Posner and The Brain Trust – A Matter of Time

Michigan’s Mike Posner highlights his raspy, tuneful voice and infectious songs on this “mixtape,” which plays like a fully fleshed album. Whatever you call it, A Matter of Time sounds like great practice for the recording and release of his upcoming first album, which will arrive in 2010. Posner could do a lot worse than [...]

Halloween Concerts Provide Unusual Covers, Inspired Performances

Everyone knows by now that Phish presented The Rolling Stones‘ Exile on Main Street in its entirety for their “musical costume” on Halloween. Featuring the incredible Sharon Jones on vocals, along with the necessary horns, the performance is deserving of the immediate praise it received. But what about the rest of the holiday shenanigans across [...]

Allman Brothers Band & Widespread Panic Raleigh Review on Glide Magazine!

My review of the October 11, 2009 Allman Brothers Band/Widespread Panic show at Walnut Creek is now up at Glide Magazine’s Hidden Track Blog! Go here to read and see Dave Rogers’ amazing photos!