The Jammys | 05.07.08 | NYC

Words by: Brian Bavosa | Images by: Rod Snyder

Jammy Awards :: 05.07.08 :: WaMu Theater at MSG :: New York, NY

The seventh annual Jammy Awards took place this past Wednesday evening at WaMu Theater At Madison Square Garden. Hosted by quite possibly the hardest-working-man-in-the-jam-scene, Warren Haynes, along with the scene’s cutest gal, Grace Potter, the evening focused on honoring the legacy of Phish, as well as the eclectic pairings and jam sessions this event has become known for.

The evening opened up with Potter, Haynes, Booker T. Jones, Joe Russo and Will Lee (David Letterman, The Fab Faux) running through a slew of covers including CSNYs “Find the Cost of Freedom” and Al Green’s “Take Me to the River.” Next up, hard-rocking Rose Hill Drive welcomed Matisyahu to the stage for The Flaming Lips’ “Are You A Hypnotist?” Like many middle-class, white, suburban kids growing up (myself very much included), Matisyahu was infected by the powerful potion known as Phish, only to have it literally change his life. Rose Hill Drive continued with Mountain’s Leslie West and Potter. After some LOUD shredding, West joked that Potter was far more attractive than most of his other bandmates, before leading the group through a rollicking rendition of his signature tune, “Mississippi Queen.”

A bit quieter, Keller Williams offered a solo rendition of his tune “Cadillac,” which later took home the award for “Song of the Year.” Immediately afterwards he was joined by actor Chevy Chase, who used to play drums with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen before they formed Steely Dan. Chase tickled the ivories on a rather different, funny take on “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and a really fun medley of “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Take the Money and Run.” When Williams later won the “Song of the Year” award, he sent Chase out on his behalf, further adding to the evening’s comic relief.

Up and comers Tea Leaf Green were joined by Allie Kral (Cornmeal) and Steve Adams (ALO) for “Taught to be Proud.” Further expanding the crowded stage, Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd) and Glen Tilbrook (Squeeze) offered performances of Squeeze’s “Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)” and “Tempted.”

One of the highlights came when Page McConnell performed with jazz players Christian McBride (bass), James Carter (sax), Nicholas Payton (trumpet) and Roy Haynes (drums). McConnell seemed to take a back seat while these truly talented musicians absolutely tore through McConnell’s “Magilla” and “Cars, Trucks and Buses.” McConnell had a shit eating grin as these maestros gave his tunes a jazz-infused whirl.

Just as in music history, jazz proved to be the predecessor to funk and hip-hop. Galactic welcomed Chali 2Na (Jurassic 5) and surprise guest Doug E. Fresh for some freestylin’ rhymes and “Think Back.”

One of the most meaningful portions of the night occurred during a set by Beatles tribute act The Fab Faux, who took the stage with Joan Osborne. After a rousing “Come Together,” they launched into “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Halfway through, the crowd absolutely erupted when Trey Anastasio walked out with his axe strapped on. He proceeded to shred with reckless abandon in only his third public performance since his very public December ’06 arrest. He remained for “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.”

As the night wound down, the focus of the rest of the evening was the guests of honor. Longtime photographer of the band Danny Clinch spoke of how everything about Phish was a family, from the band to the fans to the experience. He mentioned how they were the only band that could invite 100,000 people to a festival and make it seem intimate for each and every person. His speech was accompanied by a slide show of exclusive backstage shots featuring folks like Kid Rock and Jay-Z. When Clinch presented the award to the band, it was the first time that the four former bandmates had stood onstage together since their final performance in August 2004. That alone was an accomplishment that Jammys executive producer Pete Shapiro could hang his hat on.

McConnell, Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman all gave brief speeches, followed by Anastasio, who was visibly overwhelmed. He thanked a number of key members of the Phish community over the years, and spoke about how he and the other guys felt that Phish was something so much bigger than the four of them. When he abruptly finished, the four men simply embraced and bowed before slinking off into the warm New York night. There was no musical reunion for the four of them but it was nice to see this band honored for the stamp they’d placed on music and so many lives and music. The memories of Coventry seem a bit easier to swallow after this positive spotlight on the major musical accomplishments that have been the foundation of our scene for the last 20 years.

The night wrapped up with The HeadCount All-Stars, which featured Marc Brownstein (bass) and Jon “Barber” Gutwillig (guitar) from The Disco Biscuits, The String Cheese Incident‘s Kyle Hollingsworth on keys, Russo on drums and Umphrey’s McGee‘s Jake Cinninger on guitar. This star-studded lineup ran through “Wilson,” “2001,” “Run Like An Antelope” and “Maze” in the true spirit of Phish. Aron Magner of the Biscuits sat in on “Maze” for a double keys attack with Hollingsworth. The songs have their own innate sound but were also a fitting tribute to the band that inspired a lot our shared musical universe.

Even though this was the last, official Jammys, it managed to go out on a high note by honoring Phish and holding true to their formula of all-star collaborations.

7th Annual Jammy Awards Winners

Live Album of the Year: Umphrey’s McGee, Live at the Murat
New Groove of the Year: Cornmeal
DVD of the Year: the Disco Biscuits, Progressions
Download of the Year: Phish, “Headphones Jam”
Mimi Fishman Award: Rock the Earth
Song of the Year: Keller Williams, “Cadillac”
Tour of the Year: the Disco Biscuits/Umphrey’s McGee, D.U.M.B.
Grahmmy Jammy: Lee Crumpton, Homegrown Music Network
Archival Release of the Year: The Grateful Dead, Three From The Vault
Studio Album of the Year: moe., The Conch
Live Performance of the Year: Gov’t Mule and Guests, Bonnaroo
Lifetime Achievement Award: Phish

Phish – Acceptance Speech

Phish – Acceptance Speech

Trey Anastasio

Mie Gordon – Acceptance Speech

Trey Anastasio with The Fab Faux

Trey Anastasio with The Fab Faux

Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio with The Fab Faux

Trey Anastasio with The Fab Faux

Danny Clinch

Booker T. Jones

Warren Haynes with The Fab Faux

Warren Haynes

Warren Haynes

Grace Potter

Grace Potter

JamBase’s own Andy Gadiel

Chevy Chase

James Carter

Christian McBride

Roy Haynes

Nicholas Payton

Joe Russo

Peter Shapiro

Warren Haynes – Live Performance of the Year Acceptance Speech for Gov’t Mule

Umphrey’s McGee & the Disco Biscuits – Tour of the Year Acceptance Speech

Marc Brownstein

the Disco Biscuits – Acceptance Speech for DVD of the Year

Jake Cinninger

Jake Cinninger

Joan Osborne

Joan Osborne

Matisyahu

Matisyahu

Allie Kral – Cornmeal

Allie Kral – Cornmeal

Doug E. Fresh

Doug E. Fresh

Ben Ellman – Galactic

Jeff Raines – Galactic

Sharon Jones

Sharon Jones & Chali 2na

JamBase | Big Apple
Go See Live Music!