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It’s one of those dreary April days and the game is rained out, the barbecue is cancelled and renting another dumb movie from Blockbuster (if they are still around by the time you read this) has gotten pretty old. So, what to do? The following are some great music DVDs and CDs that come with DVDs that will make even the cloudiest day (or night) fun.

The newest box-set of music performances from the Ed Sullivan Show, Ed Sullivan’s Rock & Roll Classics (Sofa), is the best yet. Produced as a documentary of the time period (1950s through 1970s), the seven-disc set includes full-length performances of the greatest artists of the era. In addition to including every historic appearance of the Beatles on the show, each disc is categorized by various music genres and time periods. The video quality and 5.1 sound mix are excellent given that these are television performances that are at least 40 years old. The perfect companion to the Sullivan set is the T.A.M.I. Show Collector’s Edition (Shout Factory). Held up in legal limbo for years, the complete movie from 1964 is available in its entirety. Historic performances of James Brown, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye and many more are here in all their exuberant 60’s grooviness. This is one of the defining rock movies of all time.

Two other releases not to miss are Free Forever (Eagle) and A Concert By The Lake (Eagle). The Free set is a two-DVD package that includes a DVD audio disc of the band’s career-changing 1970 Isle of Wight show. The other DVD includes performances from the German television program Beat Club and a Granada television taping, both from 1970, and the original videos of five songs. There are also many special features, including interviews. Free was one of the bridge bands that reflected the shift in blues-based English rock into a harder, near-heavy metal sound. It was also the band which spawned Bad Company (along with which also included members of Mott the Hoople). A Concert By The Lake is a benefit concert film, available only on Blu-Ray, that was performed in England and organized by Gary Brooker of Procol Harum. The concert includes performances by Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Paul Carrack, Mike Rutherford and many more.

One of the most ambitious musical projects from the past year is One Fast Move Or I’m Gone (Atlantic) by Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard. Farrar, of Son Volt, and Gibbard, of Death Cab For Cutie, have taken words from Jack Kerouac’s corrosive novel Big Sur and set them to music. There is also a special-edition package that includes an additional song, a digital booklet and a full-length film of the project. Jeff Tweedy, Farrar’s former bandmate in Uncle Tupelo, has also recently been involved in a project with the group Wilco that has some similar undertones. There was the group’s album Wilco, The Album (Nonesuch), which got my vote as best album of 2009 and, on DVD, Wilco Live: Ashes of the American Flag (Nonesuch). Like the Kerouac project, Wilco is attempting on the DVD to reflect the beauty and contradictions of America in this case, in a concert film recorded on its 2008 tour, by using live performances from some of American music’s most treasured and intimate concert venues. The DVD also includes interviews and on-the-road footage. Fellow “No Depression” practitioners the Jayhawks released Music from the North Country (The Jayhawks Anthology) on CD on American, which is available as a one- or two-disc set that fans of the two aforementioned projects will have to have. Also worth checking out is Farrar’s band Son Volt’s recent album American Central Dust (Rounder).

From Razor & Tie is the DVD How Sweet The Sound from Joan Baez, an American Masters documentary on not only the extraordinary musical career of Baez, but on her social and political activism as well. A companion CD is also available.

CDs that are worth searching out that include bonus DVDs include The Blue Ridge Rangers Ride Again (Verve) from John Fogerty; White Lies for Dark Times (Virgin) from Ben Harper and the Relentless Seven; The BQE (Original Music Soundtrack) from Sufjan Stevens (Asthmatic Kitty); and Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden (Warner Brothers). The Fogerty disc, one of his best in years, includes such guests as Bruce Springsteen. The bonus DVD includes a making-of- the-album documentary, acoustic performances and a preview of his upcoming live album. Stevens’s CD/DVD is music that he wrote for a theater piece inspired by, believe it or not, the BQE and the hula hoop. This instrumental-heavy work is classical in nature and very dramatic sounding. Harper’s DVD bonus release primarily features live performances as part of a documentary, along with other extras. The Buble set is a concert recorded at Madison Square Garden. Buble also released the studio album Crazy Love at around the same time.

April is shaping up to be a fine time to check out some great local shows. At the Boulton Center, don’t miss Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons on April 7th, Allen Toussaint on April 9th, Moya Brenna on April 10th, David Bromberg on April 11th, Cowboy Junkies on April 21st, Graham Parker & the Figgs on April 22nd and the Church on April 23rd.

The next New York Roots Music Association & Saturday Night Social Club event, an evening of the Kinks’ Muswell Hillbillies album, will be presented on April 17th at the American Legion 1812 at 115 Southern Parkway, in Plainview and features Russ Seeger, The Blaggards, The Hornets, Lizz Smith, Caroline Doctorow and Steve Sollog.

Don’t miss the next installment of Rock Legends Live, at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, which, as always, is hosted by Bill Shelley. On April 18th, at 2 PM Sid Bernstein will appear. There will be clips from artists that Bernstein produced concerts for, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Bay City Rollers and, while not rock, certainly legends, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and many others.

Sing SOS! Songs of the Spectrum, featuring Jackson Browne, Dar Williams, Teddy Geiger, Marshall Crenshaw, Dan Bern, Jonatha Brooke and others has recently been released. On Wednesday, April 7 a CD release benefit concert starring Dar Williams, Marshall Crenshaw, Ari Hest, Fiona McBain of Ollabelle, and others will be held at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village as part of Autism Awareness Month.

The official Super Neat Beer Adventure, Yes!! shirt has finally arrived!

Yes, that’s right, folks! Now you can be the most fashionable barfly in town with this truly unique garment that captures the spirit, spunk and style of everyone’s favorite Long Island beer blog, Super Neat Beer Adventure, Yes!!

The shirt is a 100% cotton blend made by Gildan. The colors are hunter green (body) and golden yellow (logo). All sizes are available.

You can contact me at Facebook (“Niko Krommydas”), Twitter (”@krommydas”), or by email (“Niko392000@yahoo.com”) for more information.

A former studio and touring guitarist for Peter Wolf, Johnny A. never took a guitar lesson. The Boston-based musician grew up playing the drums—until the British invasion occurred, and hearing the melodies of bands like the Beatles, the Stones and the Animals inspired him to pick up a guitar. He soon realized he had a natural ability for the guitar and, aside from co-producing Wolf’s acclaimed solo LP Long Line, Johnny self-produced his two studio records and, due to overwhelming requests from his fans, a new live CD/DVD set called One November Night.

A.’s latest CD contains uplifting bluesy rock originals like “I Had to Laugh” and “Ignorance is Bliss,” along with the galloping “Two Wheel Horse,” and a melancholic rendition of “Wichita Lineman.” One November Night, which was recorded live at Scullers Jazz Club, also includes two previously unrecorded covers, The Beatles “The Night Before” and Chuck Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee.” When listening to this impressive live compilation, you almost forget there aren’t any vocals. Johnny “uses the guitar as [his] voice,” allowing him to express everything from ecstatic joy to sadness, and all the gray areas in between.

So, if you’re looking for something to do this Easter weekend, check out Johnny A. at the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, April 3rd, along with blues great Duke Robillard. In a live setting, you’ll find out why Gibson named a guitar after the talented six-stringer, who was influenced by the likes of Les Paul, Jeff Beck, Chet Atkins and Jimi Hendrix. It’s time to rock in the spring! http://www.johnnya.com/shows.html

Waterzooi, the best establishment for Belgian beer variety on Long Island, is running their Beer Dinner Series on Tuesday night, 3/30. Five dishes will be served, each with its own Belgian brew.

Tickets are $49.95 (plus tax and service charge). The full menu is listed above.

More information: 516-877-2177; http://www.waterzooi.com.

Awe-inspired efforts. All-American performances. All-world personas. And a few champions were crowned, too. Welcome to the Long Island high school winter sports scene. Jason Molinet and Long Island Pulse magazine followed it all, from its snowy beginnings to its breathless conclusion in overheated gyms. Here are our highlights:

Best Season: What a wrestling season it was. The contingent Suffolk County sent to the state Federation Wrestling championships in Albany was a record-setting bunch.  Eight wrestlers from Suffolk won titles, tying a meet record. Rocky Point alone had three winners. Rocky Point senior Stephen Dutton led the parade of champions, capturing the 140-pound weight class in the state Division I final. It was his second straight title. Newsday crowned Glenn wrestling as the top winter sports team on Long Island after winning its second straight Suffolk Division I team title. The program has won 58 dual meets in a row and senior Nick Meinsen took home the state crown at 130 pounds.

Best Finish: In 2009, North Babylon’s Berfrantz Charles lost the state title in the 55-meter dash by one hundredth of a second. Talk about agonizing. This winter, the senior looked to be on pace for an encore. Charles ran second to Edison Tech’s Mark Canady in two preliminary heats of the 55-meter dash, only to come back and leg out a victory in the final at the state Federation Indoor Track and Field championships in Ithaca. Charles ran the 55 in 6.391 seconds, winning by 0.007 of a second. It was a personal best. But what goes around comes round as Charles was edged out in the long jump. His leap of 23 feet, 8.5 inches was good for second.

Best Effort: No one made a more determined effort in a loss than North Babylon’s Bria Hartley. The senior point guard set a Suffolk playoff record with 51 points in a 72-69 loss to eventual state champ Sachem East in the Suffolk Class AA title game. It’s reminiscent of a similar performance from the past when Cold Spring Harbor’s Wally Szczerbiak went off in a playoff loss to Hempstead.  Hartley was recently named Miss Basketball in New York and signed with Connecticut. See her play in the McDonald’s All-American game on ESPNU at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 31 at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Best Coach: Sure, Tom Diana has a gym full of talent. But the Uniondale boys basketball coach pulled off a remarkable 18-4 run and a Nassau Class AA title with a 64-61 win over Baldwin. It was the program’s eighth county title since 2002. Why the fuss? Because Diana did it with just one returning starter from last season’s Long Island championship squad – and with a cast of freshmen and sophomores. It takes supreme ability to harness 14- and 15-year-olds and recast them as champions. 

Best Follow: Tobias Harris, who else? The Tennessee-bound basketball standout from Half Hollow Hills West was not just a phenom on the court. He was a social networking star, too. Harris created a fan page on Facebook and Twittered, where he shared his every thought in what turned out to be a wild ride of a season. Harris led Hills West to its first Long Island Class AA title and lost in the state title game. Along the way, Hills West went 24-2 and Harris was named Mr. Basketball in New York. But his season isn’t over. The McDonald’s All-American game is next. Follow him at: http://twitter.com/Tobias31