Wow...just wow. I don't know why it took me so long to experience the stunning Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, but lawdy, I'm sure glad I went to the concert that closed out a great summer of Celebrate Brooklyn! at the Prospect Park Bandshell and finally got to witness the phenomenon that she is. Sharon Jones blew my mind with her energy, singing, dancing -- you name it, she was a solid gold MVP, James Brown heir-apparent. For 2+ hours, she and her stellar bandmates (including members of the Bushwick Philharmonic) kept the 20,000+ crowd on their feet, grooving along to a wonderful retro-soul/funk sound that did not let up. She was also assisted on a few songs by the charming Lee Fields.
After the prior night's amazing Arcade Fire concert, I had already somewhat written off this interesting line-up of female fronted bands. I was pretty exhausted, but figured it's the last week of Celebrate Brooklyn!, so I dragged my butt over to Prospect Park, especially since it'd be a good opportunity to see Holly Miranda again, and to check out Joan As Policewoman and Metric for the first time.
I bought a Metric album (Live It Out) when it came out a handful of years ago and dutifully loaded it onto my iPod, but it never really got a hold of me. I was more interested in other Canadian exports at the time (The Dears and Stars, for example), but always appreciated lead singer Emily Haines' contribution to Broken Social Scene. Last night was my first opportunity to see her own proper work.
I can see why the kids love Metric's music. It's danceable and catchy. I would not call it pithy by any means. But Haines' performance makes it worth watching if you feel like moving. She's got an incredible energy level that's enviable, and a fierce stage persona that alternated between sexy hot and crazy scary. By the time the band hit the stage after 9pm, the sky was dark, which allowed the strobe lights and thumping bass line to put a flutter in your step.
Good to see, but aided by the fact that it was a free show. Plus, there was a truck giving out soft serve ice cream.
I've been up for 22 hours, so operating on fumes now, but even as I put together this entry, I'm IMing with an old concert buddy, Rad, recapping tonight's Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden show. My expectations were not the highest, as their latest album, The Suburbs, has yet to grow on me, since I haven't had it for that long, and well, not much measures up to the amazing Funeral, which I still listen to on a semi-weekly basis. But once the openers and their instruments cleared the stage, and the roadies began setting up Arcade Fire's gear -- I think there were no less than seven monitors across the front of the stage, two sets of drums, a bunch of keyboards and a piano -- I began to get really excited. I was reminded of the other times I had seen this expansive band and loved the energy that I felt from them and the crowd, which has grown successively larger with each venue they play. And here they were, about to play the biggest gig in the city for two nights in a row.
(More words and pics, including a setlist, after the jump.)
By now, everyone and their mother has seen the movie "Once" starring musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, so it came as no surprise that the crowd for The Swell Season was packed to the gills. Luckily, because I am a Friend (member) of Celebrate Brooklyn!, I was able to avoid the tremendous line and secure my seat early -- front row center! There was also a special pre-concert reception for Friends, so you betcha I consumed my share of cheese, fruit, chicken skewers, beer and Vitamin Water. While I had already taken advantage of my Friends pass a number of times this summer (Allen Toussaint and JG Thirlwell just to name a few), this evening alone was worth the meager $50 contribution.
The Low Anthem opened up at Celebrate Brooklyn! in Prospect Park on Friday night for The Swell Season, and they were fantastic! They were very different from Glen Hansard, et al., but the two bands' music really complemented each other well.
I didn't know anything about The Low Anthem prior to the show, but thoroughly enjoyed their eclectic, mostly gentle but at times rockin' sound that had its roots in folky and Appalachian music. I particularly loved how each member of the band played multiple instruments, perhaps the most unique being a pair of cell phones using whistling and feedback, almost mimicking a theremin, on "This God Damn House." Gorgeous harmonies, too. I can't wait to check out more of their music.
Sure, nowadays Sting might be a little corny and adult contemporary for my tastes, but back in the day (I'm talking Police and his early solo days), he scorching hot. In fact, I had a poster of his Nothing Like The Sun album on the ceiling of my undergrad freshman year dorm room above my top bunk.
I never got around to seeing him or the reunited Police in all these years. Oftentimes, my annoyance at the excessive prices of the tickets and size of the venues outweighed my desire to go see him. So when a few months ago, it was announced that Sting would be playing The Metropolitan Opera House with the Royal Philharmonic and that "cheap" tickets could be had for ~$35, I figured, why not.
My god, yesterday at the Prospect Park Bandshell for Celebrate Brooklyn! was perhaps the biggest crowd I've seen there, ever. By the time Bestest Boy and I got into the Friends line at 4pm, the regular line extended around beyond where we could see. I was so glad we had our passes.
We were lured into venturing out in the questionable weather (it was 90+ degrees out, muggy, and raining at times) mainly by headliners Talib Kweli and The Roots (both of whom I hadn't seen since a very sweaty show at Webster four years ago). The long afternoon showcased lots of other music, however, as this afternoon also served as the launch of Okay Africa, a new blog highlighting music that is African and/or African-influenced. We got a tease of The Roots to open the show, and then emcee Sahr Ngaujah, the star of Broadway's Fela!, led us through a lineup of bands from several African nations. We heard from diverse bands such as Dragons of Zynth, Zakee, Baja + The Dry Eye Crew, and Ngaujah himself, but my personal favorite was hearing the excellent hip hop artist Blitz the Ambassador from Ghana, who made the crowd forget the sticky humidity and got us on our feet, with his rapid lightning lyrics and big horn sound.
Unfortunately, Bestest Boy had an early call time the next morning, so we had to leave before Talib Kweli and The Roots' main set since the show was running up to an hour late. Even with our premature departure, we didn't feel that the time spent in the gross outdoors was a complete waste of time, for we did get a good 3+ hours of entertainment.
If I had to characterize LA band Ozomatli's sound, it would not be an easy task, for they play music with a sound that varies as much as its performers, ranging from rock to hip hop to Latin to R&B to soul...anyway, you get the idea. With every song came a different lead vocalist from the prior. A few of the band members also proved adept at playing multiple instruments. Also, with such different styles, the band was able to cover much ground in terms of sentiment, be it political or love or just plain fun. What resulted was a great energetic blend that had the crowd stomping, clapping and dancing along with the beat.
Last weekend, we traveled down to Smithville, TN, about an hour east of Nashville for some family-related fun. Our trip coincided with the 39th annual Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree, a two-day bluegrass country music festival in which musicians and dancers from across the region squared off against each other in judged competition in numerous categories, culminating in some eventual winners. We arrived at the Town Square in time for the last few hours of the jamboree, so we got to witness some of the finest banjo-pickin' and strummin' that side of the Mississippi, or something like that.
We rallied up the troops for this Celebrate Brooklyn show at Prospect Park because our friend Karen (of The Roulette Sisters) was playing in a twenty piece orchestra led by composer JG Thirlwell. They performed his Steroid Maximus project as well as some music from The Venture Brothers (which pleased Bestest Boy a lot, he being a fan of the Cartoon Network show). What does this all mean, you might ask? Well, for orchestra music, this was perhaps the grooviest, funkiest stuff I've ever heard live in such a format, sounding like something straight off of a '70s James Bond soundtrack. I often expected some villains to storm across the stage. It was quite fantastic to see the audience bopping their heads and feet along to the retro beat.
Bolstered by perfect weather and a chance to spend time with The Susannah, I ventured deeper into my borough to Red Hook Park, which last night hosted a concert by the oft-scorned or completely adored Dan Deacon and his ensemble. Oh, and did I mention it was free?
Based on the crowd assembled near the stage by me, I had many misgivings about whether I'd enjoy the show. I so desperately wanted to shove a few people, but that would have involved making actual contact with their sweaty bodies. Rather, I opted to chill and just have a good time, and that I did.
Despite having to work the next morning, I dragged Bestest Boy out to Prospect Park on Saturday to make use of our Friend passes we received for contributing to Celebrate Brooklyn!, the group responsible for the excellent line up at the Bandshell summer after summer. We caught a great pairing of New Orleans pianists, the legendary Allen Toussaint, and the entertaining Davell Crawford.
Occasionally, writing this little crap blog affords me the opportunity to attend out gigs at the behest of a publicist, and as you might know, I'm all about the free. Such was the case with this mostly invite-only record release show for Tokyo Police Club, a buzz band that up until this point, I had little reason to check out. But with the lure of free booze and a chance to see the Studio at Webster Hall, and an early start that worked well with proceeding work day, I brought along Shana and Julie for what ended up being an enjoyable evening.
Dylan Fest, the best $13 ever spent? An assembly of some very well-known musicians, and some not so well known ones, but all very enthusiastic and talented people (with the possible exception of Adam Green, who couldn't be bothered to learn lyrics or even read off his cheat sheet all that well) playing a 2.5 hour set of purely Bob Dylan songs -- could it get any better than that? Despite the late start, I really enjoyed seeing all the different players, including a few I probably would never ordinarily see. Even Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis of SNL showed up and pitched in on a song -- how's that for random? At the end, the entire gang returned and filled the entire stage, and you could really feel the warmth radiating outward. What a pleasure it was to witness this party.
Every once in a while, I deviate from the usual indie rock show and go back to my roots -- 10 years of piano lessons when I was a kid. And I can blame/thank my mom for that. We were originally supposed to see the Chinese wunderkind Yundi back in November of last year, but it was rescheduled to this Spring, which nicely coincided with the Dalai Lama being in town at Radio City Music Hall, to which I won a pair of passes for earlier in the day.
As you can see from the above cell phone pic I snuck, I purposely picked seats in the Second Tier that would allow us to have a good view of the piano so we could see his handiwork. The program was almost entirely comprised of pieces by Chopin, including Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, aka the Funeral March. As the first part was all nocturnes, I thought his performance, though technically impressive, was a bit restrained (especially compared to a flamboyant nutjob like Lang Lang). But once he got into the Polonaises, Yundi really took off from the preciousness that so dominated his nocturnes. He closed out the evening with two encores, including a traditional Chinese song my mom picked up on, and Etude in C minor, Op. 10, No. 12 (Revolutionary), which left the not-quite full auditorium breathless.
Thanks to a drawing by Other Music, Shana and I were able to check out the lovely Holly Miranda for her headlining gig at The Bowery Ballroom. The only other time I had seen her perform was last Fall at the Brooklyn Vegan CMJ Day Show at Pianos, where she appeared with only a guitar and the guitarist from her band. This time, we were given the full band treatment, supplemented by a bass, drums, and for most songs, a saxophone and trumpet. With New York being her home turf, she invited a number of guests on the stage, including Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio to join her.
(More words and pics including a setlist, and a video after the jump.)
In conjunction with the release of their latest album, The National has set up a 5 day long pop-up store called the High Violet Annex right next to Other Music. For the past few nights, some interesting friends of the band have shown up to DJ or perform, so this afternoon I decided to take a break from feeling bogged down with this head cold, and checked out the Annex since it was free and I don't have to work tomorrow.
After picking up the new album at Other Music (I fell for their marketing ploy!), I got into line relatively easily around 5:30 or so. Just after 6 we were allowed into the tiny space, and lo and behold, I got some prime real estate, front center, and was even able to rest on some equipment cases. For the next 3 hours we were treated to some brief but excellent sets by the psychedelic country-tinged Phosphorescent, the lovely Sharon Van Etten, and the dreamy Antlers, and as an added treat, some music by The National, sort of. Well, the crowd was a-buzz with excitement, as equipment labeled with the band's name appeared on stage, and then one Devendorf, then the other, and then one Dessner, and then the other, climbed on stage to set it up, but alas, no Matt Berninger tonight.
(More words and pics, and a video after the jump.)
Caught "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Live!" the other night at The Nokia Theatre. Not my usual cup of tea -- I went because Bestest Boy and my brother are fans, and I managed to snag them and some buddies a block of front row tickets. I actually have enjoyed an episode here and there of the show on Cartoon Network, but usually at 2 in the morning when I'm half asleep and have the drunken attention span that the 15 minute show demands. I was curious how the live format would go, and though some moments were definitely funny, the uneven momentum never allowed the show to really take off.
The other day, Bestest Boy received a call from Karen Violista with some great news: thanks to the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull and its travel-impeding eruption, she was asked to sub in this week for the trapped-in-Europe violinist in the band that accompanies the Young at Heart Chorus at St. Ann's Warehouse in nearby Dumbo, and as a perk, she could hook us up with some comps. Although I see more concerts than the average person, I cannot express how excited I was to see this particular gig, and rightly so.
Last night, Julie and I checked out Williamburg's Brooklyn Bowl as a concert venue for the first time. Verdict? I highly doubt we'll be returning to see a show there any time soon.
We got there midway through the opening set, this all girrrl band called The Coathangers (great name, btw). We were able to venture easily to the front of the floor and immediately noticed an imbalance in the sound mix. The keyboard's notes pierced through our ears, so we moved back and over a bit and found it marginally better. I first dismissed The Coathangers with their screechy vocals, but after a while found them somewhat charming, full of strut and attitude, and the music itself was not bad with its raw vibe.
No, it wasn't a Radiohead concert per se, yet it was still monumental. In 2006, lead singer Thom Yorke released a solo album called The Eraser, and fans had been salivating for a gig ever since. He decided to assemble a band (including bassist Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich) late last year and dubbed it Atoms For Peace. Last night at Roseland Ballroom, they put on a muscled, tight set that had the crowd bouncing along with excitement for a solid 75 minutes. (And surprisingly, the sound did not suck.)
(More words and pics including a setlist, and a video after the jump.)
Saturday night started off with a bump when halfway to meeting Wawa, I realized I left our tickets sitting on my coffee table back at home. What a rookie mistake -- shows you how out of sorts I am with going to concerts with this crazy early work schedule that usually puts me in bed by 10pm most nights. Oy. But we still managed to walk into the doors and find Artie on the floor just before the lights dimmed. As annoying a shlep it might have been to get out to Montclair, and as much as this show furthered my sleep-deprivation, tonight's Wilco show was so worth it.
After a lonnnng day at work, I decided to check out the one-day show, Transverse Temporal Gyrus, at the Guggenheim. Not being wholly familiar with Animal Collective, I ran with it and bought a ticket to the highly anticipated show, figuring even if it sucked rocks, at least I'd be making a donation to one of my favorite places in this fine city of ours.
If I had to make a snap judgment based on the long line before getting in, I would have guessed the show was going to be annoying, with the dopey young smokers behind me, chatting about dropping acid, and this weird dude in front of me making didgeridoo-type noises with just his mouth. I ended up standing in line for about 35 minutes before entering, checked in my coat, and rode the elevator to the 6th floor for the gradual descent down the ramp.
(More words and pics, and a video after the jump.)
I found out yesterday afternoon that the wonderful little Swedish band Shout Out Louds were playing a free gig at Pianos in the Lower East Side, so I rallied up my concert ladies Shana and Julie to accompany me for this mid-week treat. The last time I ventured to this venue was for the Brooklyn Vegan CMJ Day Show back in October, which was also free, and free is always good. Plus, it had an announced 7pm start time, which was ideal for yours truly, since I got a gig that gets me up before dawn most days.
The three of us have loved the Shout Out Louds for more than a few years now. I remember them opening for The Dears at Bowery in 2005 and being impressed by their tight performance. They continue to have the same no nonsense pop rock style, perhaps a bit mellower with the new music they were promoting tonight, yet still containing that bopability that kept me bouncing. I liken them to a sincere, less sweaty Phoenix for they are Swedish after all. Lead singer Adam Olenius admitted feeling quiet due to the early start, which was just fine by us. All we needed to hear was the music being played, and seeing them wicked close made up for any lack of banter.
They pretty much stuck to a setlist of new songs, throwing in "Very Loud" from Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, which made us happy. Picture of the setlist is below. I do believe they left out "Moon."
Saturday night, Bestest Boy and I headed to Barbès in Park Slope to see the reunion of The Roulette Sisters, a quartet of talented women who play country/blues influenced-music, drawing upon both music of the early 20th Century as well as original compositions. The first time I saw them also happened to be the last time they played back prior to their breakup in October of 2007. While we may not know exactly why these fine ladies called it quits 2-1/2 years ago, last night's two hour gig radiated love and charm, with a healthy dose of sass.
Led mostly by Mamie Minch on resonator guitar, the ladies played a lively set full of playfulness, flirtation, some heartbreak and overt double entendres (or even "single entendre" as Minch winked at one point). Minch's throaty, sultry voice reminded me at times of a sexy Kathleen Turner during her mid-'80s heyday, suggesting that she has indeed seen it all. In contrast, Meg Reichardt's sweet, girlier voice evoked an innocence that was more appropriate for the less racy selections, as she did some tight pickin' on her guitar. Meanwhile, Megan Burleyson served as a wonderfully sturdy backbone to the music on washboard, and really brought it home on lead vocals in a cover of Memphis Minnie's "Selling My Pork Chops." Last, but not least, Karen Waltuch's viola rounded out the songs with a fullness that made it feel like there was at times a fifth singer in the band. Here is a newer song about being lonely on New Year's Eve, written and sang by Waltuch:
The Roulette Sisters, who technically are not related by blood, exhibited many of the same dynamics you might observe in a familial situation, poking fun at each other with sly barbs yet united in all their togetherness. Their instrumentation sounded great musically, and their harmonies were gorgeous. They packed the shoebox-sized Barbès with both newcomers and steadfast fans, several of whom had their requests for songs like "Sugar In My Bowl" and "Keep On Churnin'" fulfilled. I especially liked the fire of "Hottest Gal in Town."
Shortly after midnight, The Roulette Sisters finished their gig and sent the warmed and delighted crowd home into the cold night air. What a cheerful early Valentine to love!
Thanks to a random tweet I caught Thursday afternoon, Shana and I each won a pair of tickets to the undersold Les Savy Fav and Vivian Girls show at BAM for Friday night. Despite some initial protestations, we dragged ourselves along with Bestest Boy and Julie into the arctic freeze and ended up having a rockin' time.
I saw Vivian Girls six months ago at the Whitney Museum and really enjoyed them then in the cramped quarters, as it felt like we were part of some loud basement party. However, tonight in the much grander Howard Gilman Opera House, the girls felt a little lost. The sound mix did them no favors at first, with lead vocals and harmonies swallowed by the acoustics. Also, being the opener is always tough, especially with the venue only a quarter filled and with people filtering in, and people seated for their performance. It was not until at least halfway through when their sound began to gel, and the songs began to take form. At that point, guitarist and lead singer Cassie Ramone made some comment about the Xanax finally starting to work, so maybe nerves had worn away at that point.
Next up were Les Savy Fav. I had had zero exposure to this band up until this point, dismissing them as some gag act based on pictures I've seen on various blogs. My basic assumption was that they were just a band with some fat bald dude acting outlandishly, and when Tim Harrington, the lead singer, came onto the stage wearing purple leggings and a loose fitting beige cloth over his shirtless body, and clothespins attached to his beard, and did a solo interpretative dance, he really did nothing to dispel that notion. But then his band joined him and it all changed from there.
To my surprise, the band played very tight rhythms that zagged all over the place but were not sloppy. I was reminded of times I had seen Modest Mouse, Built To Spill or The Flaming Lips, with the music being loose and jangly, yet deliberate and well-crafted at the same time. The band itself held my interest quite well, as they played the straight men to the antics of Harrington, who, instead of being a distraction, complemented the instruments rather well, reminding me at times of Jello Biafra with his voice and dialogue with the audience. Yes, he was a crazy looking fat dude running all over the stage and into the crowd, but his angry-goofy-gibberish song rants, energy, enthusiasm and sheer earnestness overcame my pre-judgment. At the start of LSF's set, Harrington dropped into the crowd beckoning people to stand, and it ended up being the right thing to do. Despite the opera house setting with assigned seating, it quickly became apparent that it would take a lot more than that to contain the force that is Les Savy Fav.
The four of us walked away from that performance delighted and impressed with the spectacle we had witnessed. I am looking forward to digging into their catalog more. (Brooklyn Vegan quoted my review here.)
Yesterday, I coaxed Bestest Boy to accompany me up to Williamsburg to meet Julie for an in-store appearance by Britt Daniel, lead singer of Spoon. This was my first visit to the recently relocated Sound Fix Records, where in its old iteration, I had gone to just one free "in-store" there (the band Man Man, which was just plain nuts). I use quotes there because the old setup had a nice bar attached to the rear of the record shop, which kind of made it more conducive to getting into the gig mood as it was not in a store.
We first arrived at the shop at 5pm and saw no line for the 7pm announced start time, so we walked around and settled in for a pint at The Gutter, which was closer to our vibe than the manic Brooklyn Bowl, which felt overdone to me. Around 5:45 we decided to head back to the store, only to find the line winding around the block. Wow, people do like their free.
Britt performed by himself on a guitar and sounded great. I love that raspy quality his voice possesses. He played a short setlist of four songs, with two from the new album, Transference, and two from 2005's Gimme Fiction: "The Mystery Zone," "Written In Reverse," "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" and "I Summon You." Sweet.
While, yeah, it would have been nice to hear more than that, it was probably a blessing in disguise that we didn't have to stand there too long for only partial glimpses of Britt (though the acoustics were great). The new Sound Fix location, while perhaps grander in terms of CD display, seemed awkward for this Britt Daniel appearance, as it was packed to the gills, he was not on a platform of any sort, and there was a big column in the middle of the store, and I don't mean the 6'8" man standing in front of us. Plus, with the performance being right there amongst all the compact discs as opposed to the former bar setting, it was only painfully more apparent that Britt was there to shill for his band's newly released album as he concluded with an okay, who wants to buy some records?
Even though we like Spoon, and Britt's performance was good, and we could have bought the new album signed by him, we decided to ditch the crowd and head over to Fette Sau for some porky goodness. Oh yesssss...
Wow...just wow. I don't know why it took me so long to experience the stunning Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, but lawdy, I'm sure glad I went to the concert that closed out a great summer of Celebrate Brooklyn! at the Prospect Park Bandshell and finally got to witness the phenomenon that she is. Sharon Jones blew my mind with her energy, singing, dancing -- you name it, she was a solid gold MVP, James Brown heir-apparent. For 2+ hours, she and her stellar bandmates (including members of the Bushwick Philharmonic) kept the 20,000+ crowd on their feet, grooving along to a wonderful retro-soul/funk sound that did not let up. She was also assisted on a few songs by the charming Lee Fields.
