Roll Call: MMJ - Midnight Ramble - 10/16/10

[bold992006]

SWEET MANNA HOW SUPREME!!! Just saw these last few posts today!!! What a great article.... captures the essence!! Great to see it in the Rolling Stone, too!! Wow... br00ke I need another pinch or two, it's happening again!!!

And Mike it was so cool to meet with you and hang out + share in this sacred event!!!!

Til next time!!! [smiley=beer.gif]

Yes you too!  still can't believe how awesome that was.

[Dodobird]

rolling stone article about the show is up with pictures

It was well past midnight when Levon Helm called opening act My Morning Jacket back to the stage to close out their epic concert with a euphoric rendition of "The Weight," featuring Helm, Jim James and Steely Dan's Donald Fagen swapping lead vocals. It was the perfect way to Saturday's majestic Midnight Ramble, part of a regular series of concerts held in a barn at Helm's Woodstock, N.Y. home, and featuring a rotating cast of local musicians and special guests. Helm recently had a procedure to remove a growth on his vocal chords, and yet he belted out the "Go down Miss Moses" verse like it was 1968, and was beaming uncontrollably.

Four and a half hours earlier My Morning Jacket took the stage in the tiny barn, which was filled to capacity with fans shocked they were about to see an arena-level band play to a crowd of about 250 people. Opening with a tender acoustic version of "Golden," the group played an hour-long set that drew from every one of their five albums, just two days before they begin playing them in sequence at New York's Terminal 5. By the second song, "I'm Amazed," they plugged in and rocked out as if they were at Madison Square Garden. "Can you believe we're all here?" frontman Jim James asked the crowd midway through the set. "To say it's an honor would be an understatement. If you've been here before you know what a gift from god it is. If if you haven't, you're about to get your mind blown."

It was evident from the opening moments of "Ophelia" that Jim James was right. Although Helm is still recovering from the throat surgery and preserving his voice, on this Band chestnut he let loose. For most of the night he stayed behind the drum kit and let his incredible band — which includes his daughter Amy Helm, Donald Fagen, guitarist Larry Campell and his wife Teresa Williams — handle the singing. One of the great joys of the Midnight Rambles is to watch the seventy-year old Helm flawlessly play the drums as he grins from ear to ear. My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan sat about four feet behind the kit all night, watching Helm's every move.

The set list was, in many ways, a journey through the Great American Songbook. Forty-three years ago Bob Dylan gave the Band a musical history lesson during the early Basement Tapes sessions, teaching them material ranging from from the Carter Family to the Impressions. Although Levon was absent from most of those sessions, his shows draw from the same songbook — though it has now been updated to include everything from Steely Dan to the Grateful Dead and, of course, the Band. Fagen, who spent behind the piano on the far left side of the stage, took lead on a jazzy "Shakedown Street," Steely Dan's "Black Friday" and the Band's "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)." He's described these shows as the most musically rewarding thing he does, and his presence elevated the evening to an even higher level.

The group was lead by Larry Campbell, whose tenure as Bob Dylan's guitarist from 1997 to 2004 coincides with the greatest period of the Never Ending Tour. He played on far bigger stages in those days, but it's easy to tell he prefers the musical freedom Dylan's former drummer gives him. He sang lead on a killer "Chest Fever," which he proceeded with a long guitar solo. Teresa Williams sang a delicate "Long Black Veil," while guest Happy Traum (introduced as the "unofficial musical mayor of Woodstock") reached way back to the 1930's with a sing-along version of Blind Boy Fuller's "Step It Up and Go."

Jim James spent most of the show sitting on a staircase near the back corner of the stage, mesmerized, and occasionally playing air drums. Near the end of the set he was called back onstage to sing "It Makes No Difference," which he covered on a Band tribute album three years ago. Summoning the spirit of Rick Danko, James belted much of the song out with his eyes closed. It was easily one of the night's high points. Afterward, James stuck around near the stage as the audience and musicians began to filter out. "That was so emotional," James told Rolling Stone. "Rick Danko is one of my favorite singers and musicians. That song has always meant a lot to me. Playing it here tonight is beyond anything I thought could have happened in my life. When I saw the light shining down on Levon here I thought we were all in heaven. This is as good as life can get."

there a few pictures in that article that showed some blurred out people where we were standing...but you can't make them out really...cool pix though..love the one of Jim and Levon.

Awesome! Thanks so much for posting! What a night!!!

[Dodobird]

http://www.hearya.com/2010/11/08/my-morning-jacket-at-levon-helm-studios-part-ii-concert-review/

These once informal gatherings have taken on mythic, perhaps even religious, importance as fans and musicians continue to make the pilgrimage to Levon's Midnight Rambles. In fact, there's little that can be done to add to the joy of seeing Levon in what can only be described as the ultimate setting for live music. However, the addition of My Morning Jacket as the opening act is one thing that managed to elevate the experience on a recent Saturday in October.

Having attended a few Rambles over the years, we were uncertain as to how My Morning Jacket would approach their set, given the intimate confines of Levon's post and beam studio. However, this question was answered before the show even began as an all out soundcheck of "I'm Amazed" filtered through the woods to our car a ¼ mile away, where we sat anxiously waiting for the gates to open.

Once My Morning Jacket took the stage some two hours later, they thrilled and amazed the packed studio with a 10-song set that included tracks from each of their five studio albums. The mellow opener, "Golden," was followed by plugged in versions of "I'm Amazed," "The Way That He Sings," and "Gideon" that tested the structural integrity of Levon's barn. The magnificent pairing of Jim James's angelic voice with the pastoral setting was perhaps most evident on "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)," a song that will be included on the bands next LP. My Morning Jacket closed their set with the anthem, "One Big Holiday," which left the crowd incredulous that what had just concluded was merely the opening act.

After a brief intermission that allowed time to retrieve beverages from the car, and sample some of the offerings at the potluck style food spread, Levon took the stage and seemed determined not to be out done in his own home. Although his singing is limited to select songs as result of a recent procedure to remove a nonmalignant tumor from his vocal chords, Levon opened with a raucous "Opehlia" that showcased the emotion and depth of his voice. Throughout their almost three-hour set, members of The Levon Helm Band traded lead vocals, bringing a different sound to each song. Teresa Williams stepped up front for the oft-covered Lefty Frizzell song, "Long Black Veil." Later in the evening, Donald Fagen took the lead on a brilliant rendition of The Grateful Dead's "Shakedown Street." One of the night's most memorable moments came when Jim James was invited back to the stage to sing the part of Rick Danko on "It Makes No Difference", a song that My Morning Jacket had recorded for the 2007 tribute album, Endless Highway (Thankfully, recording devices are prohibited from use at The Midnight Ramble, but below is a video from a similar collaboration at this year's Outside Lands Festival).

The level of talent that Levon surrounds himself with is almost surreal, and their set would do well as a crash course on the history of American music. However, the enormity of Levon's presence commands the attention of the audience, which included the members of My Morning Jacket who were gathered behind his drum kit. Levon's nimble drumming leaves no doubt that he deserves the title, 'the greatest drummer', that was once bestowed upon him by Ringo Starr. The fact that Levon's singing is limited, gives those rare moments when he does sing an enormous sense of gravity. Subsequently, the crowd of roughly 250 people was awe struck when Levon retook the microphone for a haunting version of Bob Dylan's "Blind Willie McTell." The evening concluded as it traditionally does with a version of "The Weight," which on this night included all the members of My Morning Jacket. Jim James took the opening verse, while Levon offered his vocals on "go down Miss Moses." It's hard to imagine a better pairing of vocal talents, and a more perfect end to an extraordinary evening of music.

Hours earlier, during My Morning Jacket's set, Jim James expressed a prescient sentiment that accurately reflected how I believe everyone in the audience felt as the show ended, and night gave way to morning. He said "Can you believe we're all here? To say it's an honor would be an understatement."

Jim James with The Levon Helm Band – It Makes No Difference (Live at Outside Lands)

[Dodobird]

http://musicandies.com/?p=9330

"After the finale, they'd have the midnight ramble," Helm told Scorsese. With young children off the premises, the show resumed: "the songs would get a little bit juicier. The jokes would get a little funnier and the prettiest dancer would really get down and shake it a few times."

When Levon Helm, the legendary singer and drummer of The Band, was diagnosed with throat cancer in the late 1990s, the initial treatment suggested by his oncologist was to surgically remove his vocal chords. Luckily for us all, he immediately sought a second opinion from Sloan Kettering hospital and decided instead to pursue radiation treatment. Over the next five weeks, he endured 28 intensive sessions of radiation therapy, during which he was strapped down to a bed while doctors shot waves through three holes in his throat. The prognosis was that his vocal chords might not recover, and he was left mute for a considerable time. With enormous medical bills and unable to even speak, Levon admits it was a dark time, but making music was a way for him to confront his struggle. Reflecting on this period in a CBS interview Levon said, "Trying to make music is the best thing for pain, sadness, you know." Well, it turns out making music not only helped him confront the pain, but also led to a second act in his career.

The Levon Helm Midnight Rambles began in 2005 as informal musical gatherings in Levon's home studio in Woodstock, NY. The idea for the rambles arose because of the need to pay off his medical debts. As Levon explains, "And then after I got sick I needed money, I couldn't take a job. So we started puttin' on little mini concerts here inside the studio." Gathering together an assortment of local and NYC-based musicians, word of the Rambles quickly spread and soon enough they were packing the house every Saturday night. Miraculously, Levon's voice slowly emerged from its slumber and by 2006 his voice was back to about 70%.

Eventually, Levon recruited Larry Campbell, a veteran producer and multi-instrumentalist who played in Bob Dylan's band from 1997 to 2004, as bandleader. After playing together for a while, they began to consider recording an album. The resulting album, Dirt Farmer, was released in 2007 to critical acclaim and won The Levon Helm Band their first of two Grammy awards. Levon's daughter, Amy Helm, Larry's wife, Teresa Williams, Jimmy Weider (The Band's last guitarist), Jimmy Vivino, Mike Merritt, Brian Mitchell, Erik Lawrence, Steven Bernstein, Little Sammy Davis and more recently Donald Fagen of Steely Dan have been regular members of The Levon Helm Band.

[woodnymph]

Awesome articles & info you guys!! LIZ I can't believe I just noticed the link with the pic of Br00ke & meself! I was just so damn giddy my processing is still catching up!

I went to my friend's the other day who's been a drummer since I ever met him in 4th grade (one of the first people to really put me onto the Band), and his roommate has the book "This Wheel's On Fire" written by Levon, and I opened it up to take a peek and landed immediately on a chunk about Woodstock! Just proof that the magick that place puts out is somehow infinite... pics of Levon lookin' a helluva lot like Mr. James James back in the day too (freaky how similar!)



Great book so far! Still reeling about that show.........