R.I.P. Clarence Clemons

(Clemons on the "Diff'rent Strokes" episode titled "So You Want to Be a Rock Star")
Good night, Big Man. Loved seeing you a few years ago playing with Bruce and the E Street Band.

Ad-Rock @MoMA, May 5th

Ad-Rock aka Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys DJed tonight at the Museum of Modern Art in conjunction with a current exhibit, Looking at Music 3.0. His wife, Kathleen Hanna, of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre fame, was on hand to sign copies of the poster she designed for said exhibit.

We came, we waited, we listened.  We capped off the evening with a nice prix fixe meal in the 2nd floor cafeteria.  No cinco de mayo-ing here.  Adios.

Chris Cornell @Town Hall, Apr. 13th

Holy Louie. Grunge-tastic.

On a whim, I tried my hand at getting tickets to see Chris Cornell at Town Hall on Ticketmaster when they went on sale to flex my ticket karma, and lo and behold, I managed to pull a pair in the front row of the orchestra, so it was a no-brainer that I go.  I had seen Cornell play before four years ago at Irving Plaza backed by a band.  In the middle of that show, he did break for a few songs solo on acoustic guitar, including his moody interpretation of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."  This time at Town Hall, he was sitting in for an entire acoustic set, all by himself, and with seats in the front row, it really could not have felt any more intimate.
 
(More words and pics after the jump.)

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The Mountain Goats @The Greene Space, Mar. 30th

That blur in the middle is John Darnielle, the fast talking, frenetic front man of The Mountain Goats, a band my dear roomie Hannah introduced me to a few years ago.  I am still getting to know them, occasionally hearing a song here and there when I have my iPod on shuffle, but Darnielle's slightly nasal, sometimes off-key delivery is quite recognizable and charming in its ways. While the songs are not very complex musically, often consisting of chiefly a strumming guitar and without traditional rhyming scheme, the lyrics are rich in imagery and story telling, and are a treat for anyone who invests the time to really pay attention to them.

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LCD Soundsystem @Terminal 5, Mar. 28th

Wow. Um, just wow.

I hadn't seen LCD Soundsystem in about 4 years to the date, figuring how on earth would they ever top my experience seeing them at the intimate Bowery Ballroom, but the lure of their farewell tour sucked me in and boy, am I glad I went (even if it was in the dreaded Terminal 5)!  Wawa had to bail on me due to a business trip, so I ended up getting in line early-ish (4pm?) before the after work crowd, which allowed me to take it all in from front row center on the rail.  Once the show kicked in, though, I wasn't so sure that I had made the right decision in being so close to the action 'cause lemme tell you, I have quite a few bruises on my arms from being an unwilling participant in the mosh pit.  It's a good thing this is the last LCD Soundsystem show I'm seeing because I am getting way too old for this shit. I talked extensively to a freshman from Yale who was exactly half my age, and there was some girl in line who was sprinkling glitter on people around her, and had she gotten some on me, there would have been trouble! 

(More words and plenty of pics after the jump.)

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Dancing Fool!

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.
This guy is so dorkilicious! Click here for the full track listing. Thanks to Alan for hooking me up with this gem.

Neil Young Tribute @Carnegie Hall, Feb. 10th

To me, tribute shows are kind of a mixed bag.  We go because we adore and want to celebrate the illustrious career of a prolific artist, yet we bring certain expectations, perhaps unfairly so, and I end up walking away feeling somewhat elated, a tad disappointed (unlike last year's superb and much cheaper Dylan Fest).  Thursday night’s Neil Young tribute at Carnegie Hall felt par for the course to me.  While producer Michael Dorf clearly has the vision and pull to do this on a yearly basis (starting with the Joni Mitchell tribute that I attended five years ago in the same venue) and I applaud that effort, especially since these shows benefit a number of worthwhile charities, I cannot turn off my critical eye and ignore the evening’s shortcomings.

(More words, a pic, a video and the setlist after the jump.)

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The Roulette Sisters @Retrofret, Jan. 15th

Ahh, friendship has its privileges.  Bestest Boy and I were invited by our friends, The Roulette Sisters, to attend the release party for their newest CD, Introducing..., even though they hardly need any introducin'.  On a chilly January night we gathered in the amazing Retrofret Vintage Guitars where this quartet of lovely ladies warmed us with their fresh sounding take on familiar saucy tunes, with a few originals stuck in as well.

(More words and pics after the jump.) 

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Pavement @Central Park Summerstage, Sept. 21st

(My apologies for throwing these up nearly five months later.  It's a bummer when life gets in the way of blogging.)

I was never a rabid fan of Pavement, so when these reunion shows were announced like a year in advance, I poo-pooed them, especially since they were to take place in Central Park at Summerstage, which in my experience usually gives rise to bad sound and sightlines as well as extreme weather.  But then before the week of Pavement came, I succumbed to the buzz, pulled out my CDs and gave their tunes a whirl again, and became determined to see them (but not at scalper prices).  Lucky for me and Julie, I managed to grab a pair off of Craigslist way below face value at $20 a pop, and with my wacky work schedule, got in line early and after a few hours of doing crossword puzzles, found myself front on the rail, center, excited for what would be a good night of music.

(More words, pics and videos after the jump.)

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"Clearly, you have both equally whored out your music."

Tuesday night on The Colbert Report, the ever hilarious Stephen Colbert featured Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys versus Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend in a heated face-off over who had the better Grammy-nominated Best Alternative album of the past year.

I'm pretty sure that I gnash my teeth every time I hear Vampire Weekend's "Holiday" on my TV...