Crosby, Stills & Nash – Demos (Rhino) In the wake of Graham Nash’s box earlier this year, and of course Neil Young’s behemoth Archives, Crosby, Stills & Nash (Neil Young…
Ben Wiser
67 Articles
Test of the Boomerang is an in-depth exploration of some of the best material found on the Live Music Archive.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
The Dead wrapped up their 2009 tour with two solid shows back home at Shoreline Amphitheater and then an end-of-the-tour barn burner at The Gorge in Washington. The tour started…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Man, I miss California. I really do. I don’t miss paying exorbitantly high rent. I don’t miss the collective panic that sets in whenever it rains and being in a…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
This week’s Test of the Boomerang features the column’s inaugural CD GIVEAWAY! Stop by and find out how you can win a free copy of the new Moonalice album!
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
I love the new Bob Dylan album. I do. Because the older Bob Dylan gets, the more he sounds like Tom Waits. Seriously, though, Together Through Life is another solid,…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
This week’s Test of the Boomerang is a DOOMERANG special, in honor of Isis’ highly anticipated fifth full-length release, Wavering Radiant. Ben Wiser calls it “hypnotic and engaging from beginning to end.”
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
The Grateful Dead collection at the Live Music Archive contains not only thousands of Grateful Dead concerts, it also holds a good number of band rehearsal, soundcheck, and studio session…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Spring is here. Blue skies, green grass, allergens. Rainy afternoons and cool evenings. Spring, of course, is time for renewal, and I like to think of it as a time…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Welcome back to Test of the Boomerang. Happy Spring Equinox! The folks over at Lostpedia offered up an interesting tidbit about the recent Lost episode “La Fleur.” Could the names…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
No test this week, folks, as I am going out to California to visit friends and family and show off the newest member of our tribe. I’ll be back soon…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Phish – The Clifford Ball (Rhino) Sherman, set the Way Back machine for that balmy summer of 1996! Jerry Garcia had been gone a year, and a lot of lonesome…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Noah Weiner has been the force behind The Grateful Dead Listening Guide for the past year. A longtime collector and fan of the Grateful Dead’s music, Noah digs deep into…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Chris Darrow – Chris Darrow / Under My Own Disguise Limited Edition 2 LP/CD Box Set Chris Darrow’s first paid gig was playing bluegrass with David Lindley on the streets…
Ben Wiser
2 Min Read
Hola Amigos! I know it’s been a while since I last rapped at you, but with being a new dad and all, I’ve been busier than a one-armed bass player….
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Now is the time of year when thoughts turn to the warmer days of spring and summer just ahead. It’s also the time of celebrations. Chinese New Year or Spring…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/zol2MJf6XNE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Named after the outdoor summer shed in Columbia, Maryland, Merriweather Post Pavilion is the latest disc from Baltimore’s Animal Collective. The band named their…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Hey, you witches and warlocks. I’m taking a break this week from your usual boomerang testing to share with you a dark and doomy treat. It’s Black Sabbath, live on…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
A 2-DVD set and 24-page hardcover book featuring Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), Mike Gordon (Phish), Steve Kimock, Sikiru, and Jen Durkin (Bomb Squad, Deep Banana Blackout). The ultimate…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Test of the Boomerang – Top Ten of 2008 I will dispense with the usual bullshit “Let’s take a look back…” year-end review. USA Today will have that shit in…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Yuletide greetings folks. Even in these tough economic times, the annual rite of holiday gift giving must be performed to appease the mighty snow demons. So here are a few…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Things have been hectic at the Test of the Boomerang headquarters: I just became a father, and things have been understandably hectic. I took a break from changing nappies, though,…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Free Phil! Phil Lesh has just released a free Soundboard recording of the Phil Lesh and Friends concert at the Warfield in San Francisco, May 13th of this year. That…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
The Gospel of Bob I’ve known some pretty serious Bob Dylan fans. They’ll talk at length about the merits of underappreciated albums like Street Legal and Self Portrait. They’ll travel…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Its unthinkable now. A crusty old rock band packing up family and crew to play a series of concerts at the Giza Necropolis. To kick out the jams at the…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
I was eleven or twelve. I was riding with my dad. We were driving back from somewhere. We were listening to the radio. It was just my dad and me….
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
On the bonus DVD included with the new reissue of Graham Nash’s Songs for Beginners, there is a gallery of the artist’s photography. One of the photos is of an…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
I. Report from the Land of the Dead It has a been a busy time in Deadland. Most notably, tickets went on sale this past weekend for the Deadheads For…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Another sad day in Floyd land. “The Violent Sequence” (early version of “Us and Them” from the Zabriskie Point sessions, 1970) “It Would Be So Nice” (single version, 1968) “Remember…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Since the world is about to end, I figured I would get into the spirit and post this — the first Test of the DOOOOMERANG!!! DOOOOOOM is the serious bidniss,…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Hi Kids. Welcome to post #7 of Test of the Boomerang. I’m glad the Popdose crew have decided to keep me around. The weekly Popdose beer busts have been great….