Heartbreakers rock the Garden






Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform at Madison Square Garden
last night, with special guest singer Stevie Nicks.

This year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will blow out 30 candles
on their birthday cake. So it made sense that last night at Madison
Square Garden they celebrated with a concert that was mostly sweet.
Leaning heavily into hits, the show opened with the jingle-jangle
chords of "Listen to Her Heart," one of the best songs the Byrds
never got around to writing. From there, they zigzagged through
three decades of material that could just as easily have come from
the same era.

Not only have Petty and his band changed little over the years, some
of their best songs celebrate constancy for its own sake. One of the
highlights of last night's show, "I Won't Back Down," drove the
point home.

As always, Petty understated the verses before amping up the
choruses, creating a one-two punch of dignity and defiance.

Having released their debut album in the country's bicentennial
year, Petty and the Heartbreakers' music has always reflected this
country's sound as well as its backbone. In their folk, rock and pop
influences you hear hints of both the rootsiness of the band's
Southern birthplace and the summery freedoms of its later Los
Angeles home.

Songs from last night like "Free Fallin'" nailed the latter
sensibility, complete with its ironic awareness that freedom holds
its own kind of trap.

The 55-year-old Petty didn't spend the entire night staring into the
rearview mirror. Several songs turned up from the singer's new solo
album, "Highway Companion," due out July 25. One, "Saving Grace,"
matched its own tune to a classic boogie beat.

Petty and the band also hauled out "Handle With Care," a rarely
performed number from the leader's offshoot act, the Traveling
Wilburys. Another surprise was a cover of the old Fleetwood Mac
snaking blues staple "Oh Well."

At the show's center, Petty introduced Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks
to belt their tandem hit, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Nicks put
even more bite into the lead vocal on "I Need To Know," which she
delivered like a young Patti Smith.

At times, the moseying pace of the performance showed a bit too much
of the Heartbreakers' Dixie origins. And with all the hits here, you
couldn't exactly call this show adventurous. But with their
anniversary as its hook, and a vague threat that this may be the
band's last full tour, Petty can't be blamed for running a victory
lap. Especially one that's so richly deserved.

Originally published on June 21, 2006

*********************************************************************
Petty, Costello, Beck and others add diversity to major music
fest's jam scene
By KRISTIN M. HALL
Associated Press
6/20/2006


Associated Press
Over 80,000 fans cheered performances by Tom Petty, left, and Beck,
during Bonaroo, a weekend-long music and camping festival in
Tennessee.

MANCHESTER, Tenn. - As Beck took the stage at the Bonnaroo Music and
Arts Festival, he had dancers in bear suits and a band that played
on water glasses and dinner plates.
He also had a puppet alter-ego take a swipe at "sweaty hippies
stinking of patchouli" - a friendly jab at his audience and the jam-
band culture that has supported Bonnaroo over its first five years.

The camping and music festival on a 700-acre Tennessee farm still
has its neo-hippies and free spirits, but Bonnaroo has grown into
something more than a celebration of endless guitar solos.

Rather than be pigeonholed into the jam-band scene, Bonnaroo has
diversified its lineup to include major artists in rap, blues, indie
rock and this year, classic rockers like Tom Petty and Elvis
Costello.

"At first it was a jam band festival. But is it still?" said Mike
Gordon of the former jam band Phish. "There still is a lot of
jamming. I think it's grown in respect. It's not considered a niche
festival anymore."

Or perhaps it just proves that hippies will listen to anything - as
long as it's not heavy metal or punk.

Ashley Capps, owner of AC Entertainment in Knoxville, which co-
organizes Bonnaroo with Superfly Productions, said the performances
by Petty and the British band Radiohead were watershed moments for
the festival.

"From the beginning, we were a music festival that was about the
music," Capps said. "We never saw ourselves being limited to one
genre or another."

David Taylor, 25, and Lucy Cornford, 24, said the only reason they
came from London to attend Bonnaroo was to see a number of indie and
underground rock bands like Bright Eyes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
and Beck.

The festival accommodated 80,000 fans - many of whom spent the
entire weekend camped out on the concert site. More than 100
performers played on 10 different stages this year.

Tom Petty's headlining performance Friday showed that even well-
known artists can surprise an audience. Stevie Nicks joined Petty
for a re-enactment of their 1981 duet, "Stop Dragging My Heart
Around."

"I've seen him five times before," said Kimberly English, of
Cleveland. "But I saw another side to him that night. He was like a
master of ceremonies."

Adding new artists each year gives fans like English a reason to
come back.

"If they didn't change the lineup, they wouldn't be holding to what
Bonnaroo is all about," English said while watching Elvis Costello
perform with jazz composer and producer Allen Toussaint on Saturday.

Costello and Toussaint, both new to Bonnaroo this year, put together
a set that included New Orleans jazz with some of Costello's new
wave classics. The band performed "Pump It Up" and "Alison," updated
with the crisp sound of their New Orleans horn section.

"Most of my life is spent in the studio," Toussaint said. "I am
seeing things that I have not witnessed before. It's a whole spirit
that I haven't seen."

The pair recently released "The River in Reverse," a collection of
new songs written by Costello along with some of Toussaint's songs
from the '60s and the '70s.

In addition to the dancing bears, Beck played songs from his entire
career - from "Where It's At" off his 1996 album "Odelay" to tracks
off his soon-to-be released new album.

In the weekend's most anticipated show, Radiohead played a crowd-
pleasing 21/2-hour set that included songs from the band's past
albums and some unreleased songs.

The crowd roared during the crashing crescendos in songs
like "Idioteque," but singer and guitarist Thom Yorke silenced the
large crowd with his haunting vocals on "Exit Music for a Film" off
the album "OK Computer."

The festival closed with former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and
Friends, blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt and New York rockers Sonic
Youth.

There was one death at Bonnaroo this year. A man wearing a Bonnaroo
admission armband was killed Friday when he was struck by the tour
bus carrying bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs.

Two people died from drug overdoses at Bonnaroo in 2004, and one man
was found dead in his tent last year. Witnesses said he suffered
from sleep apnea, but authorities said there were indications of
unspecified drugs in his system.

The organizers currently rent the farmland, located 60 miles
southeast of Nashville, but there are plans to make the festival
more permanent, Capps said.


*********************************************************************
Music
No longer a niche
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival continues to evolve from its
jam-band roots with appearances by Tom Petty, Radiohead, Beck and
Elvis Costello.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 20, 2006

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------

MANCHESTER, Tenn. - As Beck took the stage at the Bonnaroo Music and
Arts Festival, he had dancers in bear suits and a band that played
on water glasses and dinner plates.

He also had a puppet alter-ego take a swipe at "sweaty hippies
stinking of patchouli," a friendly jab at his audience and the jam-
band culture that has supported Bonnaroo over its first five years.

The camping and music festival, held over the weekend on a 700-acre
Tennessee farm, still has its neo-hippies and free spirits, but
Bonnaroo has grown into something more than a celebration of endless
guitar solos.

Rather than be pigeonholed into the jam-band scene, Bonnaroo has
diversified its lineup to include major artists in rap, blues and
indie rock, and this year, classic rockers such as Tom Petty and
Elvis Costello.

"At first it was a jam-band festival. But is it still?" said Mike
Gordon of the former jam band Phish. "There still is a lot of
jamming. I think it's grown in respect. It's not considered a niche
festival anymore."

Or perhaps it just proves that hippies will listen to anything, as
long as it's not heavy metal or punk.

Ashley Capps, owner of AC Entertainment in Knoxville, which co-
organizes Bonnaroo with Superfly Productions, said the performances
by Petty and the British band Radiohead this year were watershed
moments for the festival.

"From the beginning, we were a music festival that was about the
music," Capps said. "We never saw ourselves being limited to one
genre or another."

David Taylor, 25, and Lucy Cornford, 24, said the only reason they
came from London to attend Bonnaroo was to see indie and underground
rock bands such as Bright Eyes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Beck.

"We normally go to Glastonbury (a similar festival in England), but
they didn't have one this year, and there were so many good bands we
wanted to see at Bonnaroo," Taylor said.

The festival accommodated 80,000 fans, many of whom spent the entire
weekend camped out on the concert site. More than 100 performers
played on 10 stages.

Petty's headlining performance Friday showed that even well-known
artists can surprise an audience. Stevie Nicks joined Petty for a re-
enactment of their 1981 duet Stop Dragging My Heart Around.

"I've seen him five times before," said Kimberly English of
Cleveland. "But I saw another side to him that night. He was like a
master of ceremonies."

Adding new artists each year gives fans like English a reason to
come back.

"If they didn't change the lineup, they wouldn't be holding to what
Bonnaroo is all about," English said while watching Costello perform
with jazz composer and producer Allen Toussaint on Saturday.

Costello and Toussaint, both new to Bonnaroo this year, put together
a set that included New Orleans jazz with some of Costello's new
wave classics. The band performed Pump It Up and Alison, updated
with the crisp sound of their New Orleans horn section.

"Most of my life is spent in the studio," Toussaint said. "I am
seeing things that I have not witnessed before. It's a whole spirit
that I haven't seen."

The pair recently released The River in Reverse, a collection of new
songs written by Costello along with some of Toussaint's songs from
the '60s and the '70s.

In addition to the dancing bears, Beck played songs from his entire
career, from Where It's At off his 1996 album Odelay to tracks off
his soon-to-be released new album.

In the weekend's most anticipated show, Radiohead played a crowd-
pleasing 21/2-hour set that included songs from the band's past
albums and some unreleased songs.

The crowd roared during the crashing crescendos in songs like
Idioteque, but singer and guitarist Thom Yorke silenced the large
crowd with his haunting vocals on Exit Music (For A Film) off the
album OK Computer.

The festival closed Sunday with former Grateful Dead bassist Phil
Lesh and Friends, blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt and New York rockers
Sonic Youth.

There was one death at Bonnaroo this year. A man wearing a Bonnaroo
admission armband was killed Friday when he was struck by the tour
bus carrying bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs.

The organizers rent the farmland, 60 miles southeast of Nashville,
but there are plans to make the festival more permanent, Capps said.

"We've established a good relationship with the people in Coffee
County, and we would like to keep the festival here," Capps said.

[Last modified June 20, 2006, 06:35:51]
*******************************************************************
osted on Tue, Jun. 20, 2006email thisprint this
Bonnaroo -- not just jam bands today
Music festival's diversified lineup included Costello, Raitt
KRISTIN M. HALL
Associated Press
MANCHESTER, Tenn. - As Beck took the stage at the Bonnaroo Music and
Arts Festival, he had dancers in bear suits and a band that played
on water glasses and dinner plates.

He also had a puppet alter-ego take a swipe at "sweaty hippies
stinking of patchouli" -- a friendly jab at his audience and the jam-
band culture that has supported Bonnaroo over its first five years.

The camping and music festival on a 700-acre Tennessee farm still
has its neo-hippies and free spirits, but Bonnaroo has grown into
something more than a celebration of endless guitar solos.

Rather than be pigeonholed into the jam-band scene, Bonnaroo has
diversified its lineup to include major artists in rap, blues, indie
rock and this year, classic rockers such as Tom Petty and Elvis
Costello.

"At first it was a jam band festival. But is it still?" said Mike
Gordon of the former jam band Phish. "There still is a lot of
jamming. I think it's grown in respect. It's not considered a niche
festival anymore."

Or perhaps it just proves that hippies will listen to anything -- as
long as it's not heavy metal or punk.

Ashley Capps, owner of AC Entertainment in Knoxville, which co-
organizes Bonnaroo with Superfly Productions, said the performances
by Petty and the British band Radiohead were watershed moments for
the festival.

"From the beginning, we were a music festival that was about the
music," Capps said. "We never saw ourselves being limited to one
genre or another."

David Taylor, 25, and Lucy Cornford, 24, said the only reason they
came from London to attend Bonnaroo was to see a number of indie and
underground rock bands like Bright Eyes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
and Beck.

"We normally go to Glastonbury (Festival), but they didn't have one
this year and there were so many good bands we wanted to see at
Bonnaroo," Taylor said.

The festival accommodated 80,000 fans -- many of whom spent the
entire weekend camped at the concert site. More than 100 performers
played on 10 stages this year.

Tom Petty's headlining performance Friday showed that even well-
known artists can surprise an audience. Stevie Nicks joined Petty
for a re-enactment of their 1981 duet, "Stop Dragging My Heart
Around."

"I've seen him five times before," said Kimberly English, of
Cleveland. "But I saw another side to him that night. He was like a
master of ceremonies."

Adding new artists each year gives fans such as English a reason to
come back.

"If they didn't change the lineup, they wouldn't be holding to what
Bonnaroo is all about," English said while watching Elvis Costello
perform with jazz composer and producer Allen Toussaint on Saturday.

Costello and Toussaint, both new to Bonnaroo this year, put together
a set that included New Orleans jazz with some of Costello's new
wave classics.

In the weekend's most anticipated show, Radiohead played a crowd-
pleasing 2 1/2-hour set that included songs from the band's past
albums and some unreleased songs.

The crowd roared during the crashing crescendos in songs
like "Idioteque," but singer and guitarist Thom Yorke silenced the
large crowd with his haunting vocals on "Exit Music (For A Film)"
off the album "OK Computer."

The festival closed Sunday with former Grateful Dead bassist Phil
Lesh and Friends, blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt and New York rockers
Sonic Youth.

The organizers currently rent the farmland, 60 miles southeast of
Nashville, but there are plans to make the festival more permanent,
Capps said.

"We've established a good relationship with the people in Coffee
County, and we would like to keep the festival here," Capps said.

In Other Music News

Now in the middle of a tour with Alaskan folkie Jewel, Rob Thomas is
ready to wrap up his current gig as a solo act.

"I think this is it for this record," Thomas said during a phone
interview from a tour stop in Washington. "I'm taking a break."

But the Matchbox Twenty frontman, who issued his solo
debut "Something to Be" last year, said he has learned plenty during
his time alone. And when Thomas returns to his day job with Matchbox
Twenty, he figures he'll have plenty of stories to share.

"After 10 years of being with the same guys, it's hard to feel
innovative and creative," he said. "But I think we're all going to
come back into this as completely changed musicians. It was good for
us to all go off and find the need to show off to each other again."


---------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
Knight Ridder
******************************************************************
Crowds jam tiny town for Bonnaroo
By Eli Golden
Tuesday, June 20, 2006

About 20 road hours and 1,100 miles away from Boston is the little
town of Manchester, Tenn. Located east of Nashville on the outskirts
of nowhere, Manchester attracted 80,000 visitors this past weekend
to a 700-acre pasture for what's grown into the summer's premier
music get-together: the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.

Now in its fifth year, Bonnaroo started out as a jam band event,
helping to launch the careers of such performers as Matisyahu and My
Morning Jacket. This year, Bonnaroo expanded its range with classic
rock acts Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty (who hit the stage with special
guest Stevie Nicks), British rock sensation Radiohead, blues veteran
Buddy Guy, soul singer Bettye LaVette and rising New York indie
rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, to name a few.



``It's the party of the year," said pedal steel guitar phenom
Robert Randolph, who ditched a scheduled performance in California
to attend Bonnaroo. ``I wouldn't miss it for the world."

``It's unlike any other experience out there," said Dan
Litrownik, who drove from Needham for the second consecutive year.

Offering everything from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's
traditional New Orleans sounds to Blackalicious' hip-hop, Bonnaroo
had something for everyone, from young hipsters to aging hippies.
There was, for the second year, even a comedy tent, featuring Patton
Oswalt, Lewis Black and others.

``I think this joining of music and comedy is great," Black
said. ``After all, comedy is like music, only it ends up in a
laugh."

Beyond the entertainment aspects of the festival, Bonnaroo also
provided lasting memories in its tent cities, where campers
socialized with bands and bands such as New York's Steel Train
popped up for surprise performances.

``There is an overall feel of peace and love," Josh Lunetta of
Lowell said. ``Everybody's just cool."

Musical highlights this year included a surprise performance by
ex-Phish-mates Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon, who also performed
separately; the first performance since 2001 by Oysterhead, a trio
of Anastasio, Primus bassist Les Claypool and Police drummer Stewart
Copeland; Dr. John resurrecting his Night Tripper persona; and My
Morning Jacket covering The Who's ``A Quick One While He's Away."

Since its inception in 2002 as a music festival, the continually
evolving Bonnaroo has incorporated movies, games and more.

``It's not just a music festival," said Bianca Camasso, who
traveled to Manchester from North Andover. ``It's an experience."
*********************************************************************
Bonnaroo Brings Radiohead, Duets And More

June 19, 2006


Thom Yorke (photo: Jim Rinaldi)

The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival took over Manchester, TN for the
weekend, as the event celebrated its fifth anniversary. The festival
has evolved from a jam-band-centric lineup to a more well-rounded
mix of hipster favorites (Death Cab For Cutie, Beck) and Rock
stalwarts (Tom Petty, Elvis Costello) alongside the likes of Phil
Lesh and Rusted Root. Also there was the added draw of Radiohead,
playing their only festival appearance in the U.S. this year.

Friday's lineup saw the likes of Ben Folds, Bright Eyes and G. Love
& Special Sauce perform, along with the reunion of supergroup
Oysterhead (made up of Les Claypool, ex-Police drummer Stewart
Copeland and Trey Anastasio) for the first time in almost five
years. Tom Petty delivered a headlining set, with a cameo from
tourmate Stevie Nicks on their duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Saturday featured Elvis Costello teaming with Allen Toussaint to
play songs from their new collaboration, The River In Reverse, along
with hits from Costello's extensive catalog. Beck's performance
garnered plenty of buzz, with puppets mimicking his band and a video
poking fun at the culture of Bonnaroo. Radiohead headlined the night
with the longest set of their North American tour and playing a few
less new tunes than at their own recent gigs. Concertgoers were
still treated to songs such as "15 Step," "House Of Cards"
and "Bodysnatchers."

Sunday brought Bonnaroo to a close with a headlining set from Phil
Lesh & Friends. Lesh was a part of Saturday's midnight "Super Jam,"
which reunited half of Phish as Anastasio and Mike Gordon teamed up
for the all-star performance.

*********************************************************************
Laurel Canyon The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Legendary
Neighborhood


Author Michael Walker has written a book titled Laurel Canyon The
Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Legendary Neighborhood. Laurel
Canyon is a fabled community just north of West Hollywood. Famous
types who have resided in the area include Orson Welles David Nivel,
Natalie Wood, and Frank Zappa. Michael Walker's book wonderfully re-
creates a famed era in Laurel Canyon. The book features interviews
with legendary artists Graham Nash, the Byrds Chris Hillman, The
Turtle's Mark Volman, Gail Zappa, Pamela De Barres, Jackson Brown
and other notable artists.

Michael Walker recounts Laurel Canyon throughout the sixties and
seventies and of course the notorious Manson and Wonderland Murders
are addressed in the book.

If you love music history and pop culture books Laurel Canyon will
keep you captivated for weeks. The book has some cool info about
Fleetwood Mac also. If you missed out on the whole music scene of
the 1960's Laurel Canyon will vividly re-create the era and the
artists who resided in that area during that time.


The book Laurel Canyon has spent several weeks on the Los Angeles
Times Best-Seller list. The pictures in the book are really awesome
too. Artists included in black and white photos include Crosby,
Stills, and Nash, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa and others.

The artists who hit it big during the 1960's greatly affected the
1980's. They were the first generation of rock & roll stars. Many of
the artists of the 1950's couldn't transcend their careers past age
30, but many of the rockers and R&B acts of the 60's and early 70's
found lasting success in the 1980's when they were past age 40. The
Rolling Stones, Paul Mc Cartney, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Tina
Turner, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, The Grateful Dead, The Moody
Blues, Cher, and Neil Young are just a few of the artists from the
60's and 70's who found success in the 1980's when they were past
the age of 40.