Tuesday item-fest: Little Feat and friends, Obama-Springsteen, Radiohead live

Items galore this Tuesday:

• Little Feat's new album features a slew of guest stars taking over the frontman slot once held by Lowell George and reinterpreting classics from the band's rich catalogue. Any album with Vince Gill -- who tackles the immortal "Dixie Chicken" -- Dave Matthews, Bob Seger, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Jimmy Buffett and Emmylou Harris all singing on it has got to be worth a listen...
  
  
• Speaking of presidential candidates' relations with the music world, the Rocky Mountain News reports that Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver will be bracketed by performances from Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. Now that's some Jersey love right there...
  
  
• There have been hundreds of reviews of Radiohead concerts published in the past decade. We've even published one or two ourselves. This one from the LA Times was good enough to make me -- who doesn't even like the band -- curious about seeing them live. Nice job.
  

LeRoi Moore of Dave Matthews Band dead at 46

Word came last night that one of the great pure players of the last quarter century of popular music died, and far too young. LeRoi Moore, founding saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band, died yesterday at just 46 years old. As the message on the band’s site states, Moore passed away from “sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.”

Moore was one of the finest horn players of his generation. I had the privilege of seeing him play with the DMB twice, and he was exceptional on both occasions, at ease and in the flow whether stringing together sweet phrases on his alto sax or honking out rhythmic accents on his bari. His swinging lines anchored DMB classics like “Ants Marching” and his flute work on tracks like “Say Goodbye” was nothing short of transcendent. His versatility and deeply soulful playing helped define the DMB’s unique sound, and while they may find someone else to play his parts, he can never truly be replaced. Moore was no less essential to the DMB than Keith Moon was to The Who, and will be missed equally.

Heartfelt condolences to his family and bandmates on this tremendous loss.

Thursday Roundup

Thursday roundup? Why not! Certainly no shortage of items...

• May 20 will see the release of Live From Chicago, the first-ever DVD from multi-Platinum selling recording artist the Steve Miller Band. The three-disc set will be comprised of two DVDs and a 12-song CD. The DVD, shot at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival in July 2007, captures the SMB’s sold-out, two-night stand with 5.1 Surround Sound and 17 high-def cameras. Disc one of Live From Chicago features performances of 20 classic hits, including “Fly Like An Eagle,” “Living in the USA,” “Jet Airliner,” “Abracadabra,” “Rockin’ Me,” “The Joker,” “Take the Money and Run,” “Swingtown” and “Jungle Love.” The second disc contains a revealing documentary of the band’s traditionally reclusive namesake.
  
  
• Virgin Group Founder and Chairman Sir Richard Branson recently announced the headline acts for the third Virgin Mobile Festival, the largest music and arts festival on the East Coast, being held August 9-10 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival headliners are Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots. Niiiice.
  
  
• On April 7, Columbia Records announced that Bob Dylan was awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize. Dylan -- the first rock and roll artist ever to be honored by the Pulitzer Committee -- was recognized for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." In other Bob Dylan news, Todd Haynes' unconventional Dylan biopic I'm Not There will be released on DVD on May 6th. The soundtrack was released on Columbia Records; the two-disc, 34 song collection includes newly-recorded cover versions of Bob Dylan songs from the film by artists including Eddie Vedder, Sonic Youth, Stephen Malkmus, Cat Power, Sufjan Stevens, John Doe, Karen O, Jeff Tweedy, Willie Nelson, Antony, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova and more.
  
  
• The festival the New York Times is calling "a breakout hit" -- the first annual Mile High Music Festival on July 19-20 -- rolled out a lineup that reads like a who's who of modern rock. Try John Mayer, The Black Crowes, Mike Gordon (of Phish), O.A.R., Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Steve Winwood, Spoon, Jason Mraz, Flogging Molly, Colbie Caillat, OneRepublic, The Roots, Lupe Fiasco, Hill Country Review, Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers, Ferras, The Whigs, and Eric Hutchinson. Plus local favorites Flobots, Rose Hill Drive, Meese, Born In The Flood, Railbenders and The Photo Atlas. Oh yeah, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will headline on Saturday, July 19th, with Dave Matthews Band topping the bill on Sunday, July 20th. You're best advised to be in the vicinity of the Outer Fields at Dick's Sporting Goods Park at the appointed time....
  

Saturday Roundup

Last time we were all about the 70s; this time we're all about the 90s. Guess next time we'll be clairvoyant...

• The BoDeans ("Closer To Free" et al) are back and finding the D.I.Y route to their liking. The new disc from Sammy Lllanas and Kurt Neumann is Still, which debuted in the Billboard Top 200, and came in at #30 on the Top Independent Albums chart. The record’s first single, “Everyday,” has also landed in the top 10 on the Americana charts, and is one of the top 3 most-added songs at Triple A radio. Nice work from a couple of sharp-eyed singer-songwriters who've joined the crowd in leaving their label days behind.
  
  
• The Dave Matthews Band will co-headline the inaugural Mile High Festival on July 19-20 along with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and John Mayer; other performers include The Black Crowes, O.A.R., Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Steve Winwood, Spoon, Flogging Molly, Colbie Caillat, OneRepublic, The Roots and many others yet to be announced. Tickets go on sale March 29.
  
  
• P.O.D. will release their first album with Columbia Records, When Angels and Serpents Dance, on April 8. The boys are also heading oout on a Hard Rock Cafe tour in a few days that will run through April; check here for dates.