Imogen Heap/Back Ted n Ted/Tim Exile/ Zoe Keating - Music Hall of Williamsburg - December 3, 2009

Imogen Heap ended her tour on Thursday night in Williamsburg. As I was walking toward the concert hall, I noticed a large number of trucks outside. What I found out, by reading the audience disclaimer on the door, was that the show was being filmed by Billboard.com.

Once inside the hall, I took note of stage which look liked a cross between an electronic musicians studio and a performance artists studio. There were lots of musical toys. Aside from the cello, there were gongs,tubes,Chimes,bells and a whole bunch of instruments that I don't have a name for or which I am unfamiliar. On center stage there was a gutted white baby grand piano. The bend of the baby grand (where the strings would be) was done in plexiglass making it possible to see long white tubes lying down inside of it. Behind the baby grand was a large white paper mache kind of tree which threw shadows on the matching curtain behind it.   In front of the baby grand was a chair with a shag carpet over it for the cello player to later sit on.

(If you would like to see an older picture of the baby grand with lights inside it, go to http://www.imogenheapfans.com/music-instruments.php Unless a picture is for general distribution, I refer people to other sites.)

The show was hosted by Imogen Heap, who's opening acts were solo artists themselves and also members of Imogen's ensemble later in the show. The following is the rundown or workup to Imogen Heap's set.

First up was Back Ted n-Ted whose real name is Ryan Breen. I'm sure his name has a connotation that I'm unfamiliar with or maybe I'm just not young enough. (Yo! AARP awaits all of us. The only other alternative is death.) In tight skinny jeans, makeup, a button up shirt with a silver vest, bow tie and sneakers, Ted is artist of contradictions. Back's MySpace page denotes his music as New Wave for the 21^st Century. To my ears, Back's approach to electronic music sounds similar to 80's bands like Naked Eyes and Our Daughter's Wedding but with contemporary nuances. I would also say that Back's songwriting is very pop with a bit of Americana which I heard in his melodies.   The timbre of his voice during the song “Mirror” reminded me of Jackson Brown. It may have been that I was picking up on the fact that he filtered his voice or that he is originally from Phoenix. I suspect it's a little of both.

Ted did 5 songs. My favorite song was "Hookie which was very different from the other 4 because the music sounded very much like New Order.  Ted started the song off by programing a kick and snare pattern and then adding elements of top. He ended his set by putting down his guitar, singing while dancing across the stage and going through the audience giving high fives.   The title of the last song was "War Song" (No! - not the same one as Culture Club ).  The hook was "The War is over" which he harmonized with himself and then had the audience sing along. Everyone in the audience, including myself, loved it.

Back Ted n-Ted is definitely someone I would like to see again.  He lives in Manhattan so I'm going to keep a look out for any upcoming gigs.  (He stated before his second song that he lives on the other side of the water which I assume means the East River.)

The second artist of the evening, Tim Exile also did 5 songs.  Two of which he referred to as being on his current CD and the others were created that evening.   It's hard to explain what Tim Exile does but I'm going to try.  Tim is DJ but also a musician as well.  In real time and often at the same time, Tim mixes sound loops using several effects like reverb, delay,  chorus, harmony and many other kinds of treatments.  From what I have read about Tim, he has developed software and is a bit of a technician.  For example, one of the ways he has rigged up his controls is to use a computer game control stick.

At a point in his set, Tim Exile used his control stick to work the music from afar as he walked into the audience to dance with a few girls and sing "Happy Birthday" to one.  (And you thought that only guitars were  phallic symbols - wink! wink!)

Tim started his set with Imogen singing the line "Harold the Lion." before she exited through the stage door.   Exile was then off to the races looping and creating a soundscape out of thin air.  The "Harold the Lion" loop went from the ethereal through jungle rhythms to hip-hop beats working up to a frazzled ending at which point Exile exclaimed with his British accent  "Oh my God - It turns to chaos really quickly."

For another song, Tim Exile gave the audience the microphone.  As each audience member passed the mic around, Exile worked his magic from the stage.  He looped, he filtered and he played with the rhythms to create a spectacular collage of sound and music.  He set was amazing and interactive.  It made me sorry I was in the balcony because I wanted in on the action down on the floor.

As Hostess, Imogen Heap introduced Zoe Keating an amazing, underline amazing, avant-garde cellist.  After hearing her music on MYSPACE, Imogen dropped Zoe a line. Imogen said Zoe responded to the email by asking if it was who she thought it was. Heap responded saying yes it was and asked her to come on tour.

Zoe Keating, a woman with beautiful flaming red hair, played two songs “Escape Artist” and “Optimist.” Both songs were wonderfully executed and fit in perfectly with entire show. Like the other artists, Zoe looped riffs at certain points in her songs and played parts over them. She even did a percussion part by taping on the back of her cello. I have to mention that one of the biggest rounds of applause for evening came after Zoe's two songs. You can hear her song “Escape Artist” by going to http://www.zoekeating.com/projects.html

Imogen Heap, holding a wine glass, spoke to the audience a bit before commencing with here portion of the show. She told us, despite the taping, she planned on doing the same set she had done through out her tour. She said she was under the impression that someone on behalf of Billboard.com was supposed to introduce her but then was told that was not the case, before walking out on stage.

She started the opening song "First Train Home," which is also the first song on her new CD "Eclipse," by creating a sound as her fingers circled the rim of the wine glass. From that point, Imogen moved gracefully through 17 songs in total.   Some of the songs were performed solo and some were performed with give or take one of her four touring buddies.

Imogen plays a numerous amount of instruments on stage which forces her to move around a lot.  So, it was automatically noticeable that she was wearing body mics, not only for her vocals but for the acoustic instruments as well.   In fact, before playing the African instrument called Mbira, she showed the audience the tiny microphones attached to each of her wrists.

One of the many things I give Imogen props for is that her and her co-performers pull off what could easily be a technical nightmare. The stage is filled with instruments and equipment. I'm sure their were technical glitches, here and there during the show, but none that I could really pic up on. I guess that's the mark of a true pro.

What I loved most about Imogen Heap was her bubbly playfulness.   I found her to be a delightfully  funny and talkative woman who loves to show off all her musical toys.   There were points in the show where Imogen was charmingly silly.   On point was when she put on a hand puppet who turned out to be none other than “Harold the Lion.” Later on, before playing “Little Bird” she showed us a rubber bird that her mother gave her for Christmas. She said the rubber bird made the same sound as the birds in her garden.


On Thursday night it occurred to me that Imogen Heap is heavily interested in the colors of  different sounds and the rhythms she can create with those sounds.   That interest does not only apply to her instruments but to her vocals as well.  Her vocals are just as focused on creating lyrical melodies as they are creating rhythmic and chordal patterns.   Although what I just stated may be a given it became more apparent when I was watching her in concert.

The full range of Imogen's voice on the song “Aha,” was even more electrifying live than it is on CD. Imogen Heaps low alto voice and what she does with it is incredible, with and without effects. “Aha” was set up with a funny story explaining Imogen's inspiration for the song. She said that she had dinner with someone who claimed to be a strict vegan. But the “Aha” moment came when she decided to have a digestive for dessert and he said he could have just one.


I got a kick out of watching Imogen deliver one of my favorites which is “Bad Body Double.” It was one of the few songs she sang hands free, rhythmically emoting back and forth across the front of the stage, while Tim and her drummer/guitarist (who's name I believe is Richie) played behind her. On the musical break of the song Back Ted n-Ted comically playing a keytar in black wig and shades.


Including the bonus track “Speeding Cars,” Imogen did all the songs from Eclipse except for “Earth.” She said “Earth” required too many voices for her to duplicate by herself but she planned on having a chorus of background singers to do it the next time around. She stated that she plans to do an online tally of the audience's favorite songs so she can perform them for her next tour which will be in April.


For the encore Imogen returned with Keytar in hand to do “Hide and Seek.  ” Although I expected it,  I didn't care if she did the song or not because I really enjoyed all her new material just as much or even more.   Since her encore basically consisted of songs from her CD Speak For Yourself,  I would have loved to hear “Clear the Area” or “Say Goodnight and Go.” But alas there is no clairvoyant performer who can play all my favorite songs.

The encore did include some audience participation. She split the audience into 3 sections and gave us all a crack at singing the hook “Just for Now.” The musically rich evening ended with the song “The Moment I Said It.” Imogen Heap said that it was the last song she did for each show on her last tour and that it felt equally as right for this tour as well.  She was on the money – it was a perfect ending to a great show.

Set List

1.First Train Home
2.Wait It Out
3. Between The Sheets
4. Headlock
5. Bad Body Double
6. Speeding Cars
7. Little Bird
8. Half Life
9. Aha
10. Canvas
11. The Walk
12. Swoon
13. 2-1
14. Tidal

Encore:
Hide & Seek
Just For Now
The Moment I Said It

http://www.imogenheap.com/

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zero's/Local Natives/Fool's Gold-Music Hall of Williamsburg- November 18, 2009

I started this BLOG to acquaint myself with the vast number of new bands and perhaps reacquaint myself with some of my old favorites. The project on the whole has been invigorating. I am enjoying bands which I wouldn't normally buy a ticket to see and taking it a step further by writing about them.

And so it was, on Wednesday night, Daddy (that would be me) boarded the Hipster Express (that would be the “L” subway train) to Williamsburg (that would be in Brooklyn). The concert was my first time at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and it was the second time I was checking out a concert only to find out that all the bands were from LA. I guess, as a native New Yorker, I must subconsciously be attracted to a California esthetic. 

As the evening unfolded, it was apparent that all three bands complimented each other but each had their own musical style . It seemed to me that Local Natives leaned toward Indie Rock, Fool’s Gold toward World Music and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros were sort of  60's Folk Inspirational.

Local Natives, my personal favorites of the evening, opened up the show with lots good harmonies and energetic rhythms. Everyone sang harmony except for the drummer and all five men handled percussion instruments whether it was a tambourine, drum stick, cow bell, cymbal or the tom they placed center stage. Their songs were driven in an almost tribal sort of way by doubling or at times counter-pointing beats played by the band's drummer.

Local Native's songs were more structured than those of the other two bands in the show. But what really made the songs stand out was the mixture of musical elements. They did their cover of Talking Heads “Warning Signs” which I think is a good example of how Local Native's sound is crafted. The song still has it's edginess but Native's arrangement includes vocals with lilting harmonies (6ths), soft jangling guitars and a sort tribal break.

Local Natives is group of 5 musicians. Kelcey Ayer is on vocals, keyboards and percussion – he's the guy in the middle of the stage with the tom next to him. Both playing guitar and doing vocals are Taylor Rice and Ryan Hahn. On bass is Andy Hamm and on drums is Matt Frazier. The group performed 8 songs starting the set with “Camera's Talking” and ending with “Sun Hands.” One of my favorite songs of the set was “Wild Eyes” which I had to look up on YouTube to find out it's name. “Wild Eyes” has the this rapid fire drum turn around that I picked up on and liked. Another notable song was “World News,” I can't figure out why but the vocals on “World News” reminded me of The English Beat and General Public. That's a good thing!!

Local Native's music has it's own original character.  I hope they come back around soon as headliners.  I would definitely like to see what they do with a full set.

Fool's Gold was the second band on the bill. From what I can tell, they are more or less a collective as well as a band. What I mean is that online they are written about as being 10 musicians. However, on Wednesday night, I only saw 7 people on stage.   Besides Lewis Pesacov on guitar and Lead singer Luke Top on Bass,  there was another guitarist, 2 percussionist, a drummer and a musician who played sax as well as flute. (Notice that I'm not saying the names of the other 5 members.  My ignorance, I'm not sure who was whom.) 

Members of Fool's Gold laid down florescent lamps of different colors across the stage which they turned on before starting the set with their first song "Nadine."   The lights created a cool ambiance for the whole set. As the band first started playing I thought of David Byrne and Paul Simon.  But Fool's Gold take on World Music seems more innate than sought out.  The range of influences is wide from American to South American to West African to Middle Eastern. It's all in there. But the best thing about Fool's Gold music is it makes you want to either dance, form a conga line or at the very least bop in place as you listen.

Fool's Gold's set was as much fun for the audience as it was for the band.  I was seated up in the balcony and found two things strangely funny. Before starting a song that he sang in Hebrew, Luke Top dryly asked the packed audience if they had any questions, comments or concerns.  It was as if he were giving a lecture or talking to people on tour bus.  A very cute moment was when one of the conga players took a camera shot of the audience.  I thought to myself, in this age of cell phone cameras, did he do it to remember the moment or was it revenge? Maybe it was both!

The really nice thing about bands touring together from the same town is that they occasionally join each other on stage.   This happened at the end of Fool's Gold set and later with Edward Sharpe's.  Members of  Local Native came out during Fool's last song and played along with some of the smaller percussion instruments.  Then, while still playing an instrument or clapping and singing, everyone on stage marched up the steps and off stage single file.  (Okay - it's been done before but it was nonetheless fun to watch!!)


I recently watched a YouTube video with Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos of Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zero's.  Alex basically said in the interview (I'm paraphrasing), that after going through a low period in his life, he could no longer write songs from a place of retribution, rebellion or anarchy.   He said he is now coming from a positive child like place where anything goes.  He feels that his music is more about being in the moment and not at all about posturing.  Prior to Edward Sharpe, Alex led the band Ima Robot.   If you look at Ima Robot videos compared to Edward Sharpe videos on YouTube, you can see what the reference to posturing is about.

A childlike quality is something I definitely picked up on the moment Alex, Jade and the rest of the band walked on stage.  There were moments that seemed chaotic when Alex mulled around a stage filled with musicians between songs.  But once each song began, everything fell into place.  Alex started the show fully dressed but somehow I knew that like a baby boy who ends up running around the house in just a diaper, Alex would soon end up in only his white pants.  Jade loves to twirl around in her peasant dress like a little girl and at certain points comfortably sat on stage in varying lotus positions. Seeing Alex and Jade together made me feel like I was watching John and Yoko back in the early 70's.

As I was watching, Edward Sharpe and the MZ's it seemed as if I was witnessing a communal experience. You see Alex Ebert, who towers over the rest of the band in height, has a Jesus Christ looking beard and wears all white. (After Labor day no less!) Surrounding him is a chorus of shinny happy musicians who follow his direction. Then there is the fact that no one in the band is named Edward Sharpe. From what I have read online, Edward Sharpe is a messianic character who came down to earth to save mankind. So at times, it felt like I was watching a cult. I not implying that the band is a cult, It just comes off that way which may be part of the intention.

You may have noticed earlier that I attributed a 60s sound to Edgar Sharpe and the MZ's.   Primarily, I hear a  psychedelic factor which reminds me of bands like Rotary Connection. (A band from the late 60's featuring Minnie Ripperton as one of the vocalists.)  All the vocals for Wednesday's set had a major amount of reverb.  The same is also true when I have listened to their recordings, there is lots of reverb.  In concert the echo was especially noticeable when Alex sang solo.  However, both Alex and Jade have wonderful voices. So I'm sure it's a color choice to make their songs have a more spiritual or psychedelic feel. 

Although I'm sure they have done the same songs 1000 times before, nothing on Wednesday seemed planned.  In fact, it seemed more based on Alex's whim.   I am pretty sure there wasn't a pre-determined set list or a preset point where their set was supposed to end.  From my place in the balcony, it seemed like Alex was walking around stage telling the band what the next song would be. When Jade did her solo song in the set, it was obvious that Alex told her she would be doing it. Jade's song was a definite highlight. Not because it was something different but because Jade has such a wonderful stage presence. She's one of those singers who smiles ear to ear when she sings which radiates to give the audience a warm fuzzy feeling.

The band started the set with “40 Day Dream” which has a soulful hook. The song has parts where the audience is totally compelled to clap along. Alex introduced “Janglin” as a child's songs. During the musical intro Alex hopped off stage to take pictures with some of the audience. The band did 9 songs in total. The set wasn't as short as sounds because the songs were long.

Once Edward Sharpe finished their set with "Om Nashi Me", it took the band a while to come back for an encore. They finally came back out after playing with opening and closing the stage door a few times. As the band filter out down the steps onto the stage, Edward asked everyone from the two other bands to join them. Together everyone sang along with “Carries On.” The songs lyric started with Alex singing “One love, one love – Carries On” then grows exponentially. The final two songs felt spiritual due to the large chorus of singers. I don't know what the last song of show was – it might have been a reprise of an earlier song or something new. Even so, It was a wonderful ending to a great show.

In closing, I need to state that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros may not be everyone's cup of tea. The non-posturing stance may come off as posturing in and of itself. Only time will tell how Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros evolve and are received. With that stated, if you want a show that is choreographed and planned, this band wouldn't work for you. If you want see a band that seems like anything goes with a chorus of people jamming and enjoying themselves – then definitely go see Edward Sharpe and the Magnificent Zeros.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are made up of Alex Ebert on lead vocals; Jade Castrinos doing lead vocals and Percussion; Nico Aglietti on guitar, synthesizer, keys, and vocals; Christian Letts on guitar, mandolin, vocals and percussion; Stewart Cole - trumpet, percussion, keys, tenor ukulele, vocals;Tay Strathairn on piano and vocals; Aaron Older on bass, vocals, banjo and percussion. Josh Collazo on drums, percussion and vocals. Orpheo McCord on percussion and vocals; Nora Kirkpatrick on accordion and vocals.

Set List

40 Day Dream

Up from Below

Black Water

Janglin

Home

Title Unknown – Solo song by Jade

Desert Song

Come In Please

Om Nashi Me

Carries On

Unknown (If anyone knows the name of this and Jade's song, please feel free to leave a comment)

http://edwardsharpeandthemagneticzeros.com/

To see great pictures of the show check out:
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/11/local_natives_m_1.html

PT Walkley - Joe's Pub - November14th, 2009

I have found on rare occasions that if I put something I want out into the universe it just might materialize. Thus when I wrote in an earlier BLOG entry about how I would like to see PT Walkley do a full set at the Joe's Pub, I had no idea the planning was already in the making.

PT did beyond what is usually classified as a full set at Joe's Pub (11-13 songs).  He did almost 20 songs. It was exciting to watch as PT Walkley raced through his set like a hyperactive little boy who had something he desperately wanted us to hear. So much so, that when PT ended his set, he didn't really make it clear to the audience that he was done. We weren't sure if he was coming back out and whether or not we should be asking for an extremely warranted encore. I think he saw from backstage that we all had that “huh” look on our faces because he and the band came out anyway for 2 more songs. He did “Why” which I was waiting for and a song that I remembered from the Weezer show “Overwhelming.”

Early in his set, PT Walkley did a lot of the material from his newest CD “Mr. Macy Wakes Alone.” The band walked out on stage as the music done by the Kings Highway String Quartet played over the sound system. The melody being played is one that opens up and closes the new CD as part of the last song “Somebody.” After the intro, PT sang “Lucky Ones” with his tall, lanky and lovely wife Michel by his side doing her talking parts – the song has a very 1920's ragtime feel to it and was a fun opener. He later returned to the same musical feel doing “Calvin in the Corner” and "Audrey Macy "as a sort of medley.

I have to say you can hear a lot of PT Walkley's influences in his music. But on Saturday night, as soon as I heard the harmonies in “Sunshine” one influence clicked – The Beatles. I'm not stating that because Sean Lennon worked on some of “Mr. Macy” but because I think The Beatles influence was already there. Not all the of PT's songs that remind me of The Beatles are Lennonesque – there is definitely a McCartney influence. Some of the a fore mentioned songs on “Mr. Macy Wakes Alone ” remind me of “Honey Pie,” and PT's song “Sanitarium” reminds me of songs like “For No One" and "Eleanor Rigby."

Since I've digressed to the point of talking about musical influences, I would like to make a comparison as well. PT Walkley has the the same sort non stop energy as Butch Walker. Both men seem to love what they do so much that they can stay on stage until they drop. (PT was sweating through the whole show until someone finally handed him a towel.) And oddly enough both songwriters went for a softer more country music sound on their newest CDs. Digression over – back to the show.

The show took off when PT went solo for two songs on his acoustic guitar. Before bringing the band back in, PT performed his song “Mediocre” with it's sarcastic twist and then played his infamous YouTube cover of Bruce Springsteen's “For You.”  PT seemed a bit worried about recapturing his online performance. After all, the song is quite wordy and not that easy to deliver. But after dropping a chord or two on acoustic guitar in the beginning of the song he delivered it with flying colors.

Following the acoustic portion, the band started to crawl back in with Drums and Piano, for the song “Lovely World ”   PT Walkley dedicated a new follow up song “Oh My Darling “ to all the kids in the house including his niece and nephew. By the time the PT got to the song “Radio” the entire band was on stage going for it. It was the second time I've heard him do “Radio” and the second time I thought this song is awesome. “Radio”, to my ears, sounds very Tom Verlaine but with more of a pop edge.  The energy from that point took the band through to the end of the show to PT's current signature song “Somebody.” 

Walkley's band consisted of brothers Nicky and David Kulund on Drums and Bass. David was playing a Rickenbacker bass which has been one of my favorites since the 70's. My friend commented that David looked like Mike Nesmith because he wore a hat for the first part of the show (Ref. The Monkees). All of the bands powerful lead solo's were done by Lizzy Lee Vincent on electric guitar and Marc Trachtenberg gave PT's songs that player piano ragtime feel when appropriate.   Each musician including Michel Walkley, at one point or another, filled out the sound with background vocals.   On the very last song of the set "Punch Drunk," Oren Kaufner came on stage from the audience to play Harmonica.


By all accounts, PT Walkley is an artist who's going places. By doing some research I see he has put in quite a few important appearances like opening for Coldplay. I'm glad I'm getting to see him now because one day soon he's going to be a sold out headliner at a place like Webster Hall.   For me, that means paying extra bucks to scalpers on Craigslist.  Damn!


Set List
Lucky Ones
Daydreaming
Something More
Sunshine
Calvin In The Corner/Audrey Macy
No One Needs To Know
Lower Than The Ocean
Mediocre
For You
Loveley World
Oh My Darlin
Four Cheers
Radio
Up The Walls
Somebody
Punch Drunk

Why
Overwhelming

www.ptwalkley.com/

Lili Aňel - The Living Room - Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The modern world is filled with talented people who, for whatever reason or reasons, have never made it into the limelight. Lili Aňel is one of those people. Lili and I have been good friends since 1977. Therefore whatever I write may seem totally bias. However, I am one of the consistant few who have watched her amass all the credits on her resume. And believe me it's quite a list. Long before she ever recorded, her performances were favorably reviewed by Stephen Holden of the New York Times . In the 80's, after being nominated twice, she was the winner of a New York Music Award as Best Unsigned Artist. She has opened for and shared the stage with Richie Havens, Odetta, Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Susan Vega, Pat Dinizo (Smithereens), Boz Scaggs, Joan Baez and her long admired friend Garland Jeffreys. The list of names is longer than I can recall but if you're reading this I'm sure you get the picture.

On Tuesday night, I went to see Lili perform in celebration of her new

CD “ Every Second In Between.” The new CD is the best representation of Lili's music to date. While incorporating and paying homage to her influences like Nina Simone, Lili's singing is crisp, straight forward and melodic. I'm tempted to say that Lili's voice nowadays sounds like that of a seasoned performer's but a better statement would be that her voice sounds like a finely tuned instrument.

Getting back to Tuesday night, I ditz-ed out thinking I would be arriving at The Living Room early. The problem was that I didn't pay attention; the invite for the show stated it was at 7:00 not 7:30. I walked in on Lili's beautiful old fashion ballade “Won't You Stay.” As usual Lili had the complete attention of the audience which is often hard to do in a place like The Living Room.

The next song was “ So Far Away,” a song Lili wrote with her twin sister Barbara who is also an accomplished musician. Barbara was in the audience. AND it was true to form that Lili had to rib her. She started her ribbing by stating that her mother bought Barbara a piano first before she gave Lili money for a guitar. Then she ribbed Barbara by talking about how Barbara learned classical music and how she was a type “A” personality. I laughed, Barbara smiled. It's always been a funny thing between the two sisters done with much love. When I covered Tegan and Sara's Town Hall Concert, I mentioned the same sort of thing in depth about how sisters love to rib each other. I still find it funny.

Lili's current band configuration is a small trio consisting of Lili on guitar along with percussionist Jim Armstrong and bassist Mike Kurman. Jim wonderfully compliments Lili's music by paying strong attention to her melodies and underlining their nuances with strong and subtle rhythms. Mike plays a mean bass – his playing is fluid but he can funk out with the best of them. He did both for his solo during the song “Thin Line.” (I could have really seen him funk out on Temporary Amnesia but remember I was late). John is another one of those musicians who I have seen in recent months performing on stage barefoot. The other two were Mika and Harley Prechtel Cortez of Red Cortez. The first time I noticed a performer do the barefoot thing was Boy George at Madison Square Garden in the 80's. So, for future articles, I am going to pen going barefoot as BGS, Boy George Syndrome.

As a special guest, Lili invited studio musician and jingle writer Gary Schreiner to the stage. As he had done on her new CD, Gary performed a Stevie Wonder like harmonica solo on the song “Can't Fall Out of Love.” It was wonderful not only listening to Gary's solo but watching Lili and Mike Kurman smile from ear to ear. Gary later came back on stage to ad-lib through the last song of the evening “The Way Out.” More fun was had when Lili and Gary did an exchange of riffs - vocal vs. harmonica . At one point, Lili turned to Mike and said something like “Damn, I didn't even know I could hit that note.”

Although Lili didn't do all the music on her CD, she did my favorite “Supposed to Be.” I not only find the song intriguing but think it's a new vantage point to the age old subject of wanting someone else to be something they are not. It was obvious that everyone in the audience was moved by Lili's heartfelt performance. The song was correctly placed as worth holding till close to the end of her set.

If reading about Lili Anel moves you to see one of her performances, I promise you will enjoy every note including the background voices her sister Barbara and I will be doing from the back of the room.

Set List

I Don't Need You This Way
One More Night
Temporary Amnesia
Won't I Your Stay
So Far Away
Can't Fall Out of Love
Thin Line
George Bailey's Lament
Supposed to Be
The Way Out

http://www.lilianel.org/

Weezer / PT Walkley / Matt & Kim - Hammerstein Ballroom - October 31, 2009

This show was a MetroPCS Masquerade with Weezer presented by 101.9 RXP radio station. Nowadays, I don't listen to New York Radio or for that matter any music coming from an actual radio. I either listen to on-line Radio Paradise or NPR. Therefore, I was basically unfamiliar with the two opening bands. Although I have heard Matt & Kim before Saturday, without knowing it was them.

I loved PT Walkley and his band, who were the first performers of the evening. I'm sorry they didn't play more than eight songs because I wanted to hear more. PT Walkley was backed by a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a keyboard player and a drummer. After seeing PT Walkley I did a little research. I found out that he has two CDs "PT Walkley and the Adventures of a Track Rabbit" and the new CD "Mr. Macy Waits Alone." (He was also part of a band The Blue Jackets and he has done music for films.) When I listened to the tracks on both CDs, I became confused. The band that played on Saturday night was energetic but the band I listened to on CD is more sedate. My guess is that PT Walkley chose songs for his set which would play well with the Weezer Halloween Audience. If that's the case - good move!

I can see why PT Walkley recently opened for Coldplay, the guy's songs exhibit great songwriting. Those which I heard in concert which I made sure I revisited on CD were "Overwhelming," "Daydreaming," "Somebody," and "Lower than the Ocean." I saw on Walkley's website that he has appeared at Joe's Pub. I hope he does it again - I would like to hear a full set.

Matt & Kim, worked perfectly in revving up the crowd for Weezer. Their music and act is part White Stripes, part Devo and part Fred Synder of the B52's. Dressing for the occasion, they appeared on stage as Andy Warhol and Eddie Sedgewick. After the first two or three songs, Matt got rid of the gray wig because it was just too hot.

Matt & Kim are a strange duo, whether they are in or out of custom. On Keyboard, Matts stage persona is that of dweebie sort of nerd with a voice to match. Kim, on drums, has the persona of bad girl who says fuck a lot and has a slutty attitude. At one point Kim stood up, in the bathing suit she was sporting, and said "Halloween is for two things - acting crazy and scoring." Together, Matt and Kim performed in front of a special set panel made up of two video screens.. There act was high octane as if they each had drank seven cups of coffee. The highlights were Gary Glitters "Rock-n-Roll, pt 2.," "5 K Girl" and their hit "Daylight."







Now that I have seen Weezer in concert, there are two things about them that are definite. The first is that Rivers Cuomo is definitely an eccentrically comical and lovable nerd. The second is that Weezer is a high decibel, feedback loving, air guitar mimicking, real guitar power chord playing ROCK BAND, with fans body surfing to prove it. That doesn't mean that Weezer isn't a fan of pop and Hip-hop culture, it simply means that Weezer incorporates it into their music. For example, MGMT's "Kids" and Lady Gaga's "Pokerface" were part of Saturday night's encore. And while I'm on the topic, Rivers Cuomo has been including Hip-hop boastful attitudes and slang on the past few album's. On the current album he went even further by having Lil' Kim rap on the song “Can't Stop Partying." A lyric from another Hip Hop influenced new song “Let It All Hang Out” makes me crack up every time I hear it. Cuomo sings “Me and JD chillin' in the shack, sharing Chiclets from the same pack.” (I'm pretty sure it's JD and not Jay Z.)

Weezer's show guaranteed a good time for all. Weezer started the show in bug outfits because it was, after all, Halloween. For their entrance on stage they started with the guitar riff from "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes and quickly segued into their song "Hash Pipe." The packed house went wild!! One of my first thoughts was that they were going to be very hot if they wore those customs for the whole show. But, I worried too soon, the second song was "Undone-The Sweater Song." During the song, they had pre-picked audience members come on stage to take off their customs. Underneath the customs, the whole band was wearing white.

As I stated earlier, Rivers Cuomo is comical. He's a nerd with a bald spot in the middle of his head to match. (I was the old man in the second balcony who couldn't help but notice.) One of the things that I found really funny was the trampoline in front of the drummers’ platform. Rivers would jump on the trampoline then onto the platform to pose in a spread leg RocknRoll stance. Later he attempted a Michael Jackson moon-walk which didn't quite cut it but was nonetheless funny. He also made public service announcements like telling us to turn back our clocks and to get our flu shots. After the second encore, Cuomo even told the audience to wash our hands with an antibacterial sanitizer.

I really like the material on Weezer's new CD "Ratitude." Therefore, I was a little annoyed when "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You" was done with Leighton Meester as a duet. I like Leighton Meester. I've even watched her on Gossip Girl. She has a really good voice. BUT, since the song her and Rivers did was new, I would have preferred to hear just him do it. I understand special guest - blah, blah, blah but that's just my preference.

Besides Rivers Cuomo on mostly vocals and a little guitar, Weezer consisted of , Brain Bell on rhythm guitar, & backing vocals, Patrick Wilson on drums, and Scott Shriner on bass who at two points during the show did lead vocals. I've always known Weezer to be a 4 man band but there was a 5th man playing guitar next to Scott whos name I didn't get. So, if there is anyone in the blogosphere who knows - please leave a comment.

Weezer-live appeals to the Heavy Metal sensibility in their audience. Rivers Cuomo and the rest of Weezer for that matter prove that you don't have to be a wild haired, tattoo wearing hipster dude to rock. For me, that's the charm of Weezer's persona and their music.




Set List

Seven Nation Army intro
Hash Pipe
Undone (Sweater Song)
Troublemaker
Surf Wax America
War Pigs [Black Sabbath]
Why Bother
Say It Ain't So
Dope Nose
(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You (with Leighton Meester)
Perfect Situation
Can't Stop Partying
Tired Of Sex
Your Daddy
My Name Is Jonas

Beverly HillsPork & Beans
Kids/Poker Face

Island In The Sun
Buddy Holly

To see great pictures of this show check out:
http://stereogum.com/archives/photo/weezer_hammerstein_ballroom_nyc_103109_098621.html

http://www.weezer.com/
www.ptwalkley.com/
www.mattandkimmusic.com/

Tegan and Sara / Kate Stelmanis – Town Hall – Friday, October 30, 2009

Kate Stelmanis' opening performance was the perfect compliment to Tegan and Sara. Her trio consisting of guitarist Carmen Elle , percussionist - xylophonist Maya Postepski, and  Kate who utilized a MAC laptop and a NORD Keyboard. Kate's voice and her vibrato were powerful and intriguing.  I would describe her music as more modal than just minor with rhythms that have a sort of marching quality. Strangely enough Kate's music reminded me of the late 70's British band Renaissance.

Stelmanis performed nine very interesting songs that seemed to win over the more than respectful audience. There was an irony in opening up for Tegan and Sara because Kate said that at 17 she gave them her demo but she was sure they hadn't listened to it. Kate Stelmanis admitted that she was still happy to have the opportunity to be opening for Tegan and Sara. She stated that she was a longtime fan.

Kate Stelmanis definitely has a beautiful voice with it's own character and resonance. I can't say that her songs completely won me over but I did see talent in Friday night's performance and hope to hear more from her in the future.

Tegan & Sara

I know the dynamic between sisters fairly well. I grew up with 2 older sisters who were close in age to each other. I was commonly regarded as their baby brother, and as most siblings, I got to bare witness to my sisters interactions on a daily basis. I guess it was a comfortable fit because not long after starting college, I became a close long time friend of twin sisters.

Some sisters, like mine are inseparable. So, whatever happens, it is smart to never come between them. Sisters argue. Sisters complain about each other. But the thing they do best is rib each other. There is always one sister who ribs more than the other, still they both are guilty of doing it. I have even known one of my sisters to talk about the other sister to me as if that other sister weren't in the same room. The ribbing almost sounds as if it's a stand-up comedy routine.

The reason I've started this posting talking about my sisters is because Tegan and Sara reminded me how cute and funny the dynamic between sisters can be. The show on Friday night was chock full of ribbing from Tegan and passive aggressive ribs back from Sara. The rapport Tegan and Sara had on stage was endearingly funny. Their banter, which was refreshingly unrehearsed, is something Tegan and Sara are known for. When I did a search on YouTube, I found many clips of Tegan and Sara with more banter than music. I even found a few clips of Friday night's show.

At one point toward the end of the show, Sara had her own little Armageddon story which Tegan was going to interrupt. But then Tegan decided to just give her sister a chance to speak, so she walked back and stood up-stage next to their guitarist. When Sara saw that Tegan was being kind, Sara requested her own personal spot light. Once her request was granted, Sara basically said that if the world in 20 to 25 years were on it's last leg, due to global warming or whatever, she would not want to be around. She said she did not want to rough it because she thought of herself as “delicate.”  She would prefer to be dead.  After Sara's speech, Tegan teased her sister for the rest of the show about bumming the audience out, It was funny. (You can see the whole bit on YouTube.)

Tegan and Sara's repartee with their audience is just as laughable as their rapport with each other. All through Friday night's show a predominantly female audience screamed things out. Tegan and Sara most often either responded or would have a small conversation. Early in the show, there was a female audience member who said she wanted a picture with Tegan and the band's set list. The woman said she wanted those things because she was from Pakistan. Tegan said “I'm from Canada, what do I get?”  Tegan later answered her own question by saying "free health care."  Not long after, Sara had a conversation with a woman in the front row. Sara asked the woman to watch out for people who might jump on stage. She asked the woman to basically give her a “heads up.” All of Tegan and Sara's asides never took away from the music. They were always taken as humorous departures from Tegan and Sara's serious and often sad lyrics.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about seeing Tegan and Sara because in order to acquaint myself with their music, I needed to give their CDs several listens. However in concert their sound grabbed me immediately. I think it might have to do with their type of music being digitally recorded as opposed to analog. With that said, I think the material off the new CD “Sainthood” is wonderful. All the songs are worth a listen. The songs that are my favorites are “Hell,” “Northshore” and “Alligator.” On Friday night, Tegan and Sara seemed to be on a mission to completely play all the songs from their CD. I read in a review of the LA show that they are doing a mini-tour to promote their CD which clarifies the reason they wanted to do all the songs from their new CD.  They also did the exact same set in New York as they did in LA.

Most, if not all, of Tegan and Sara's material is under or around 3 minutes, which made a quick moving set of 24 songs and enough time for banter. They were backed by drummer Johnny Andrews, bassist Sean Hubberts and guitarist Ted Gowans. Tegan, Sara, Sean and Ted all had keyboards beside them and all switched to keyboards for various songs in the show. Aside from switching to keyboards, Tegan and Sara constantly had different guitars brought out to them depending on each song. Guitar switching happened a lot, not to the point of being annoying just to the point of being noticeable.

Conscience or not, Tegan and Sara follow the old adage “the only rule is that there are no rules.” The adage is reflected in the structure of their songs, in their musicianship and especially in their performance. For Example, they made it very clear after their 22^nd song that they were not going to do the traditional encore thing. Sara basically stated that her and Tegan had played a long set as justification for not doing an encore. So she asked the audience to act as if they had just returned to the stage before doing the last two songs.

When Sara was thanking the audience for coming out. She stated that more than buying their recordings, she appreciated when fans came out to see them live because essentially they are a live band. It was at that point I thought to myself, that none truer words had been spoken. I will definitely catch them next time around.

Set List

The Con

Walking With A Ghost

I Bet It Stung

Speak Slow

Arrow

Don't Rush

Hell

On Directing

Red Belt

The Cure

Northshore

Night Watch

Soil, Soil

Knife Going In

Like O, Like H

Nineteen

Where Does the Good Go

Alligator

Paperback Head

The Ocean

Sentimental Tune

Someday

Back In Your Head

Call It Off

Oh, by the way,  Tegan gave the set list to the woman from Pakistan before leaving the stage.

www.teganandsara.com/
www.myspace.com/katiestelmanis

Mika/ Gary Go – United Palace Theater - Friday, October 16, 2009

The United Palace Theater in Washington Heights was a fabulous place for Mika to play, but no so much for his opening performer Gary Go. At this point in Mr. Go's career, it looks like the choice is to work with one other musician (a guitarist who's name I never got) and fill in the blanks with sequencers and drum machines. Unless Gary Go is touring with a band, his set is way too intimate to capture an audience in a place like the United Palace Theater.

My first impression of Gary Go is that he sounds a lot like Chris Martin in a slightly higher register. There is definitely a Coldplay influence noticeable in most of his music. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that there are some well written songs. While listening to Gary on Friday night, I noted songs that resonated with me like “Open Arms” and “Engines.” I then checked those particular songs out on-line - they're Great! My favorite song of Gary's set was “Brooklyn,” not because I'm from Brooklyn but because the vocal was brilliant and so was the lyric. In concert, the line “Cause while I've been feeding your ego, mine's been wearing thin – It's all so quite in Brooklyn” caught my ear. I'm sure Gary Go will be around again – I'm anxious to see him perform a second time, in different setting.

And then, after what felt like a half hour intermission, there was Mika !

The United Palace Theater is grand and garishly beautiful. It's the perfect place for Mika to play. The boy is grand in the most musical way. He's Elton John, Freddy Mercury and the Bee Gees all in one. He's kitsch. He's Cool. He's Corny. He's Opera. He's Soul, Jazz and Rock-n-Roll. I can go on but I think you get my point. Mika is a phenomenon. Which is why I guess the intro to his show was kind of 2001:A Space Odyssey .

The show starts with the band members sitting on a red couch watching a 50's black and white TV show. The TV then goes to color footage showing a space rocket take off interlaced with a news announcer's commentary. The rocket takes off, the rocket explodes, TV screen goes dark and out comes Mika floating in a spacesuit which he then strips off down to his underwear (Boxers – not briefs).  As the band starts playing , Mika walked off stage to put on his white attire. Then within seconds  returned to do the opening song “Relax.”

From the moment Mika hit the stage, the sold out packed audience stood up from their seats and remained standing for the rest of the show. “Big Girls” was the second song with 4 actual big girls in bathing suits on the risers behind the band. As with most of Mika's material, the audience sang along.

Gyrating, twirling, dancing and walking back and forth to opposite ends of the stage, Mika kept the show going at a very high pitched pace with both his energy and his falsetto vocals. (He was barefoot for his entire set as was another performer I previously talked about in concert-log)

Whenever Mika disappeared he usually returned behind the band on the risers. The first time he did this was for “Touches You,” a song written and totally delivered a la George Michael. During the song “Stuck In The Middle”, Mika did the mock horn solo and laughed at himself before doing it by saying “Like I'm Dizzy fuckin' Gillespie.”

There were little boy touches to show which were really charming. In the earlier part of the show, Mika kept picking up a animated teapot puppet. I can't remember which song it was before but the teapot became part of a bit. Mika drank an imaginary cup of tea from the teapot puppet and then was pulled backstage by the puppet. A large teapot returned holding a Mika puppet crossing from stage right to stage left. The bit was cute, not all that necessary but cute nonetheless.

“The Boy Who Knew Too Much” is a great CD. In my opinion it's stronger than the first. The new material was performed and went over really well. “Blame It On Girls,” “Rain,” and “Blue Eyes” are great songs. One of the three songs is always my favorite depending on the mood I'm in when listening to the CD. In concert, on Friday night, my favorite was “Rain.” When Mika performed it, he kicked ass!!!

The thing about Mika's high range is that he goes there with such ease. True – there is a powerful re-verb on his microphone and he is backed by a female singer who can double in the higher vocal register. Still, with all the moving around he does, it's amazing that he hits and sustains such high notes with ease.

I couldn't find the names of the band members on-line, which is what I do because introductions are generally mentioned so fast in concert. (Not to mention, I often can't remember the name of a person I met 3 minutes ago) Backing Mika was a keyboard player, a guitarist/background vocalist, a bass player, a female background singer and a drummer, also female. Mika did play keyboard several times during the set, but would often leave the keyboard mid-song. The band's keyboard player would pick up where Mika dropped out. The only thing that bothered me a bit was that with the background singer in a party dress, the look of the band came off esthetically like the Scissor Sisters. I think Mika is a strong performer in his own right and therefore I do not want to be continually reminded of the comparison.

The show ended with thunderous and I mean THUNDEROUS applause for “We Are Golden” followed by a 3 song encore. Mika performed “Toy Boy” at the piano as the little Mika puppet danced along the upstage risers. Then he did, as could have been easily predicted by anyone, “Grace Kelly.” The final song of the evening began with Mika and other band members banging out rhythms for the song "Lollipop." The crowd went wild as white balloons came out over the audience from the stage.

Did I enjoy Mika's show? Well, I came home with a hoarse voice from yelling and singing along.
What do you think?

Here's the set list:

- Relax
- Big Girl
-.Stuck in the Middle
- Dr. John
-.Blue Eyes
- Touches You
- Pick Up Off the Floor
-.One Foot Boy
- Blame It On The Girls
- Happy Ending
- Billy Brown
- I See You
-.Rain
- Love Today
- We Are Golden

- Toy Boy
- Grace Kelly
- Lollipop

After posting this another blogger commented and then graciously advised band member names which are:
on guitar: Martin Waugh
on bass: Jimmy Simms
on keyboard: David Whitmey
on drums: Cherisse Ofusu-Osei
background vocals: Imma

(dcdeb - thanks!!!! )

http://www.mikasounds.com/

http://www.whoisgarygo.com/

The Airborne Toxic Event /The Henry Clay People/ Red Cortez – Webster Hall - Thursday, October 15, 2009

I paid $20 for my ticket to see The Airborne Toxic Event and got to see two additionally great bands. In these inflationary times, that's a better price than 2 for 1 paper towels from the 99 cents store. All three bands are from sunny southern California which in my head made them a metaphor for keeping warm on a cold rainy New York night.

Red Cortez  was the first band on the bill, with songs which had a punk/indie flavor to them and a subtle mexican musical influence. The quartet was led by front-man Harley Prechtel Cortez with a vocal delivery that seemed to propel the band to give 100% through out their performance. The audience respectfully listened to Red Cortez and stayed with the band all through their set but didn't clap along when prompted.  Being in the audience, it was apparent to me that the band was well received but I'm not sure it was apparent on stage.  The reason I'm stating this is that as Harley was introducing a song he said “you don't care, because you don't even know who the fuck we are.” Some people might have found that offensive but I just found it honest.

Red Cortez's set was played well and was tightly executed. They did more than 10 songs which seemed to go by quickly. The song I enjoyed the most in their set was a new song for the band for which Cortez switched from guitar to piano. The song's interesting lyrical pace was a bit different from other songs in the bands set. With the exception of the aforementioned song,  Cortez played guitar for the entire set in bare feet. The other members of the band, who kept their shoes on, are Ryan Kirkpatrick on bass and vocals, Diego Guerrero on drums, and Calving J. Love on guitar.

The Henry Clay People reminded me of Mathew Sweet's CD “100% Fun.” Their 70's sensibility was so strong that I could easily imagine wood wall paneling behind them. The band was lead by guitarists and vocalists, Joey and Andy, who I am not sure but may be brothers. They played lots of power chords and Joey (maybe it was Andy) did most of the vocals which sounded at times like Ian Hunter from Mott The Hoople. The keyboard player who was announced as a new addition to the band did a lot of piano riffing a la Billy Preston.

The Henry Clay Peoples stage presence was that of a group of guys goofing around in their parents basement. So much so, that they asked the audience if they wanted to hear a Jackson Brown or a T Rex cover for the bands last song. It was like the audience dropped in on their rehearsal and they wanted to give us a treat. They played "Bang A Gong." Their set was good music, a lot of fun and a great lead up to Airborne Tox.

The Airborne Toxic Event frontman, Mikel Jollett said to a sold out audience “ I don't know how you found out about us but I'm glad you're all here.” I think I know how. When your band is that good – word of mouth takes off.  Airborne Toxic is more than good, they are exceptional.

One of the many things I like about them is that each member has his or her own personality on stage. First and foremost is Mikel Jollett, the bands songwriter, who talks and acts like he's straight of the 1950's Beat Generation. By Mikel's side is Noah Harmon who comes off like Lucian in the Underworld vampire films. Noah plays a mean bass but what is even cooler is to watch him play electric bass with a bow as he stands next to viola player Anna Bulbrook. Along with viola, Anna plays keyboard and does backing vocals. In a blue sequined dress, Anna was a powerhouse sporadically bopping around stage with a tambourine. She even body surfed during one of the encores. Steven Chen is the band's handsome guitarist and keyboard player responsible for many of the bands ambient riffs (He also has a great hair cut.) Last is Tox's drummer Daren Taylor, keeping steady pulsating beats while looking like he could be one of the Village people (It's probably the mustache he's sporting). Daren kicked off Airborne Tox's set by playing a tightly driving drum beat as each member stepped on stage playing their instruments.

For their set, The Airborne Toxic Event managed to do, most of the songs from their debut CD along with two covers. They did “This Magic Moment” originally recorded by the Drifters but also covered by Jay Black and The Americans as well as Lou Reed. Airborne's version was less of a straight forward cover and more danceable with a hypnotic beat. I was unfamiliar with the second encore which was a cover of a Yo Lo Tango song but I did enjoy it.

With a name like The Airborne Toxic Event and the quite a few sad songs, I didn't expect Airborne's set to be so upbeat. But their set pretty much remained upbeat from the beginning, only departing from that feeling when the material warranted it. One of the few times when they did get more intense was during the acoustic portion. Mikel Jollett sang a new song and then “Wishing Well” which is the opening cut of their CD. He set up “Wishing Well” as a feeling that person gets a 2 o'clock in the morning when they don't want to be in their own skin. I have to give props to Jollett because he sang both songs sitting at the very edge of the stage. He managed to stay in each song's character and kept his concentration through out the songs while people were screaming out I love yous and flashing their IPhone cameras.

The audience loved Airborne Toxic. They sang along to most of the material on Airborne's CD especially “Gasoline.” When it came to Toxic's most well known song “Around Midnight”, the fans cheered, sang along and were really happy. I was glad they were doing the song as well but I had to wonder if everyone in the audience understood how painful the moment is that is being described in the song. It was just a thought, I guess even if the audience didn't relate to the situation, they probably did relate to the emotion behind it.

I was having a good time, so I wasn't waiting for or expecting an encore but once it was upon us it was the best part of the show. The first encore is my favorite song “Happiness is Overrated” which I didn't realize they hadn't yet done. After “Overrated” Mikel asked the other two bands back out on stage and do the late Jim Carroll's “ Those Are The People Who Died.” (Jim Carroll and T Rex were the two times I felt comfortable knowing all the words – so you can guess my age group.) If memory serves me right, the last song of the evening was “Missy” which was interwoven with two Smith songs “Ask ” and “Panic,” and then band introductions.

The show was a good full evening, you can quote me. G.F.E.

Set List
-Does This Mean your Moving On
-Something New
-Magic Moment
-Gasoline
-Echo Park
-Girls in Their Summer Dresses
-Papillon
-This is Nowhere
-(New Song)
-Wishing Well
-Sometime Around Midnight
-Goodbye Horses
-All I Ever Wanted
-Innocence

-Happiness is Overrated
-People Who Died
-Missy

You want to see great pictures of this show, go to:
http://www.prefixmag.com/photos/airborne-toxic-event-red-cortez-henry-clay-people-/

www.theairbornetoxicevent.com/
www.thehenryclaypeople.com/music/index.html
www.redcortez.com/

KYLIE MINOGUE - Hammerstein Ballroom - Sunday, October 11, 2009

When I purchased my ticket for Kylie Minogue on Craigslist, I had no idea that I would be seeing her first American Tour. I also didn't know I was so familiar with her music until I was at the show watching her perform. But mostly, I didn't know I would be seeing a really great entertainer. Yes, I am using the word "Entertainer" fully knowing that it is an old fashion word. I can't help it, there is no other way to describe a singer who knows that she is on stage to entertain , that she is there to be seen and that her job is to make sure the audience has a good time. On a holiday weekend, (Columbus Day) there ain't nothin' wrong with a little Las Vegas in New York.

You might be asking yourself, if he didn't know that much about Kylie Minogue, why buy a ticket? The answer would be that I watched many of her videos while doing cardio when I worked out at New York Sports Club & Crunch (I've moved on to hot yoga). I can't say I listen to her music at home or that I listen to her music on my portable mp3 player but I can say that I was intrigued. (Olivier Martinez may have been included in that intrigue but I'm not going to go there.)

The line to the Hammerstein Ballroom went all the way to 9th Avenue then circled back. By the time show started, the room was totally packed. I stood in line alone to get into Hammerstein, therefore I got to overhear the conversation from the guy behind me. He apparently had seen Kylie in Europe because he made comparisons to Madonna. He said that Kylie was more personable and relaxed on stage. He said Madonna basically hits her marks on stage but has no rapport with the audience. I later heard a more direct comparison during the show when a guy next to me said "Madonna needs to take notes!" Just as I was about done with hearing the "M" word, Kylie Minogue did the quasi-rap from the song "Vogue" as a scene set up. Ironic – I wonder if Kylie has insight into what people are thinking.

Albeit Kylie Minogue's first show in New York, the audience overwhelming loved her; it was apparent – hands down. There were two guys next to me through out watching the show. One of them told me they were 11 days clean and sober in their 12 step program and that they were making Kyle their higher power. (Sober from crystal meth but that didn't stop them from slappin' back the cocktails) After the show, as I was walking down 8th Avenue, I heard some guy tell his friends that Kylie was glowing. I guess we had good reason to adore her. I have never seen a performer in recent times look so relaxed on stage. She moved smoothly through a highly choreographed and somewhat strenuous show with ease. It was amazing and good fun to watch.

The evening was so gay I was looking for a white bubble above the crowd. I thought Glinda might be putting in an appearance. Prior to the show a DJ was on stage. If I wasn't sure that all my gay brethren were in the house, I was absolutely sure when what seemed like the entire audience sang along with Lady Gaga's "Just Dance." If you continue reading, it will be very apparent that Kylie is totally aware of her gay following.

The show started with an overture that includes the melodies from the Classic MGM movie Intro, West Side Story and The Wizard of OZ. Kylie made her entrance by standing on skull descending from the ceiling. She was wearing a silver kind of Barbarella outfit with a frilly coat over it. The pièce de résistance was her headpiece which mimicked the solar system with her head as the sun. During her entrance the dancers were moving underneath the skull wearing black fencing outfits which to me looked very Darth Vader. The choreography wasn't bad either.

After seeing the show I read that Kylie was doing a combination of prior shows she had done in Europe. Sunday night's show definitely had a "Best of " feel to it yet it felt as fresh as if it were set up specifically for her New York audience. The concert was a spectacle which consisted of different segments with different themes. The first segment seemed futurist, Kylie did songs like "Speakerphone" and later "Slow" with the dancers in there previously mentioned outfits holding florescent lights. Then there was a staged segment seemingly based on the decadent Berlin of the 1920s which later opened up to a window overlooking the NY skyline. A theatrical conflict took place between a waiter and Kylie while she sang the one slow ballade "Confide In Me" from an Art Deco love seat. Also included in this segment were arrangements of "I Believe in You" and her first hit "Locomotion."

The portion of the show that made the gay boys hearts flutter was a shower scene with buff male dancers and Kylie straddling a gymnast pummel horse. If there is one thing Kylie is good at, it is giving lots of T & A – emphasis on the "A." For her encores, Kyle came out in a sequined jumper. She made a point of turning around so the audience got the full effect. Kylie knows - her trunk ain't just another piece of luggage.

Oh dear! I've digressed. I forget that when I see a pop singers in concert that I should probably talk about their vocals. Okay. Do I think Kylie Minogue is a great vocalist? Not so much. Do I think she a good vocalist? Yes. Definitely. Once I bought a ticket to see her, I had to let go of the fact that her vocals sound like that of a little girl's pout. However, within the parameters of her own vocal sound she does sing well and she sings live!!

Kylie was backed by a keyboard player, a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer who I never saw because he was not in my field of vision. There were also two background singers and a 3 piece horn section that both became part of the choreography. My one small quibble with Sunday's show was that the sound wasn't as good as it could have been. It may have been the interweaving of live musicians and prerecorded music that made it difficult to get a good sound balance. As often happens with performances of dance music, the sound goes to the land of reverberating mush. It wasn't too distracting but it was noticeable.

A week ago,I found out that Lenny Kravitz was in town the same time as Kylie Minogue, I could have kicked myself for having already purchased Kylie's ticket. But actually, I'm glad I got to see Kylie Minogue, I had a great time watching her. As for Lenny Kravitz, I'm sure he will be in town again. Hopefully, not at the same time as time as Kylie Minogue.

Set List -

-Light Years
-Speakerphone (remix)
-Come Into My World
-In Your Eyes
-Shocked

-What Do I Have to Do?

-Step Back In Time

-Spinning Around

-Better Than Today (new song)
-Like a Drug

-Boombox

-Can’t Get You Out of My Head

-Slow

-2 Hearts
-Red Blooded Woman

-Where the Wild Roses Grow
-Sex

-Heartbeat Rock

-Wow
-White Diamond
-Confide In Me
-I Believe In You
-Burning Up

-Vogue (Madonna - spoken portion - "Ladies with an attitude...etc.)
-The Locomotion
-Kids
-In My Arms

-Better the Devil You Know
-The One
-Love at First Sight

http://www.kylie.com/

Marianne Faithfull - Town Hall - Thursday, September 24th.

Seeing Marianne Faithfull on September 24th was a real treat. She opened up the show with a Dolly Pardon cover “Dover.” Then stated how wonderful it was to perform in Town Hall by paying homage to a list of great artists and noting the hall's excellent acoustics. I could have taken her walk down memory lane, through Town Hall historical trivia, as a way to segue to Ellington’s “Solitude” but it felt honest. After all Marianne is an old gal with a quite an eclectic repertoire.

The last time I saw Marianne Faithful was at the long gone Village Gate in New York’s West Village. She was more or less an add-on to a show that performance artist Penny Arcade was doing. At the time, her set seemed very dark and very 90’s. However, there was nothing dark about her Town Hall performance except for the songs themselves which she herself admits gravitating toward. For me, her Town Hall show was about great songs, a great band and wonderfully honest interpretation.

I want to be truthful – there were certain aspects of the show which I had to accept. The first, being that she had lyric sheets on a music stand next to where she stood. The second is that she hadn’t yet connected to all the newest material on her new CD “Easy Come, Easy Go.” With that said, it is easy to forgive Marianne Faithful’s shortcomings because she is a woman who is who she is and makes no bones about it. It’s best to say she’s very WYSIWYG. She brings all her rough sweetness to the stage with charisma and humility.

The most memorable part of the show for me was when the chord came out of the microphone as she grabbed it to do her encore. Although she tried she couldn’t plug the chord back into the microphone. A stagehand had to do it for her but as they both fumbled she said something like “if there is anyone who is most unlikely to be a singer – it would be me.” In an earlier part of the show, you could tell the Marianne was over wearing her high healed shoes. So she sat on a chair and took them off as if to say “I dressed up for Town Hall but now lets get real.” As the shoes hit the floor, the audience applauded.

For a woman who is an interpreter of song rather than a singer, she keeps very good company. The band seemed like an extremely tight ensemble of studio musicians, many of which are either in well know bands or have their own solo careers. For me, the most prominent musician was Jazz Drummer Joey Baron. Not only was Baron’s drumming in the pocket but it added color and dimension to all of Marianne Faithful’s arrangements. Also amazing in terms of adding color was keyboardist Rob Burger. Burger played accordion, piano, toy piano, Hammond S-6 organ and celeste. Other notable musicians were bassist Greg Cohen who produced her new CD and guitarist Marc Ribot. For the final encore, Ribot and Faithful did the wonderfully eerie song “Strange Weather” as duo without the band. It was a shinning moment for both artists.

Maryanne Faithful sang most of her older material with the band in full gear. I would even go so far as to say that “Broken English” was more pulsating and driven then it is on CD. When it came time for “Why’d Ya Do It”, Marianne seemed to scream the lyrics but it still worked. The couple who sat in front of me brought their 7 or 8 year old daughter but luckily she fell asleep. Still, her father held his child’s ears for the whole song. Gee – I wonder why?

Of course, the songs which Marianne delivered really well and went over big with audience were “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” and “Sister Morphine.” But for me, the highlight was Faithful’s cover of Randy Newman’s “In Germany before the War.” Marianne’s version stands out on the new CD and stood out even more in concert. I think it was also due to the fact the band did a prelude to the song with a child like melody. Marianne knew the song went over well because after singing it she jokingly took credit for the arrangement.

My one big disappointment was Marianne Faithful’s delivery on “Dear God, Please Help Me.” She seemed uncomfortable doing the song and may have even dropped a few lyrics. On the CD, she seems personally very connected in her delivery of Morrissy’s lyric in a purely erotic rather than homo-erotic way. I guess, Marianne and her audience lost her connection to the song when she announced “this song is very gay.”
I’m really not sure why the song fell flat but it did.

In a year from now, I would be interested in seeing Marianne Faithful again. She has an interesting collection of new material which I hope by then she will have settled into and embraced. But for now, I'm glad to have heard someone who some believe is a Rock and Roll legend.

www.mariannefaithfull.org.uk/

Pet Shop Boys - Hammerstien Ballroom - Wednesday, September 1, 2009

The Pet Shop Boys performance really surprised me. I enjoyed myself. I repeat – I really enjoyed myself.

Let me explain, I saw the The Pet Shop Boys many years ago at Radio City Music Hall. At the time, the Boys were promoting one of my all time favorite albums “Behavior.” Unfortunately, for me the show was disappointing. I recall feeling that there were too many theatrics and that their performance never extended beyond the 4th wall. Call it a personal quirk, but I like to be acknowledged. Even when I’m in the balcony, I like to feel that I’m part of the good time that is being had on stage.


This time around The Pet Shop Boys were promoting the CD “Yes.” I read an interview in AM NY before the show that said they were promising a fun time. The Pet Shop Boys did as promised. Apparently, when you see performers more than 10 years later, their shows get better. Who knew? People grow. What a concept!


For starters, the staging was brilliant. As I was waiting for the show to start, I thought “what is with the white moving boxes? It kind of looks chintzy.” However, once the show started – the white moving boxes became part of multimedia performance with the same box graphic motif used on the CD. The boys being the dryly humorous diva’s they are came out with screened boxes on their heads as did the two dancer/singers on stage right who were wearing lego sort of outfits while playing keyboard.


The show had momentum from the beginning straight through to the end. Neil Tennant not only acknowledged the audience but seemed to enjoy the audience enjoying themselves. Chris Lowe was behind what looked like a DJ booth for most of the show. I'm sure Chris was playing keyboards and using a laptop. Though it occurred to me during the show that for all I knew he was reading a Kindle or masturbating. But that's just me being silly. Chris doesn't have to be a great showman, he writes great music and arrangements – that's all that's required and more than enough.


Each song was extremely choreographed with dance numbers, numerous projections and costume changes. Yet, the show never felt weighted down by the theatrics or the songs. The boys kept the hits coming and for those songs which they didn't do full out they included as parts of transitions or bridges in other songs. Besides doing songs from their new CD “Yes.”, the boys did “Left to My Own Devices, New York City Boy, Suburbia, Closer to Heaven, It's A Sin, Se Vida E, and Opportunites.” Yup – the boys did all their greatest hits plus a version of Coldplay's “Viva La Vida” which I really enjoyed.


The staging was helped along by 5 fabulous dancers – 4 women and one male. Two of the female dancers looked like they were twins, both blonde, beautiful and bubbly. If you are old enough to understand the reference, the girls were very“Doublemint”commercial . One of the highlights of the show was a dance done by black male and female dancers during the song “Jealousy. The two dancers pantomimed a tug a war between lovers. It was great.


As I stated earlier, The Pet Shop Boys show had a box motif which esthetically held the show together . The audience didn't get to see the dancers faces until the middle of the show because their heads were covered with colored boxes to match their outfits. Later in the show, the dancers wore box outfits with Chrysler and Empire state buildings painted on them to imitate the NYC skyline. Boxes were also used as paneled doors, stair steps and pedestals for the dancers and for Neal.


I could have gone home extremely content after hearing “Being Boring.” - which they performed beautifully. For sentimental reasons, it will always be my favorite Pet Shop Boys song.

The final encore of the evening was “West End Girls.” Neal Tennant introduced it by recalling the humble beginnings here in NYC. It was a great ending to a terrific show.

Set List

- More Than A Dream
- Heart
- Did You See Me Coming
- Pandemonium/Can You Forgive Her?
- Love Etc.
- Building A Wall / Integral
- Go West / Paninaro /Opportunites (Let's Make Lots Of Money)
- Two Divided By Zero
- Why Don't We Live Together? /Left To My Own Devices
- Always On My Mind
- New York City Boy
- Closer To Heaven (truncated)
- Left To My Own Devices
- Do I Have To?
- King's Cross
- The Way It Used To Be
- Jealousy
- Suburbia
- All Over The World
- Se A Vida É (That's The Way Life Is)
- Viva La Vida / Discoteca /Domino Dancing
- It's A Sin
- Being Boring
- West End Girls

If you would like to read more about the show and see some great pics - check out
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/09/pet_shop_boys_h.html
or
http://www.prefixmag.com/photos/pet-shop-boys-hammerstein-ballroom-nyc-pics/

www.petshopboys.co.uk/