May14
The Prospect Park Bandshell is one of the best places (South Street Seaport is prolly the best) to see FREE live music during the summer in NYC. Last year I only saw two shows (Maceo Parker w/ Prince & Broken Social Scene), which is pretty sad considering I literally live directly across the street. I plan on making up for lost time and hitting as many as I can this year, so give me a ring if you are ever up for a night in the park. And here is the schedule…
Celebrate Brooklyn 2007 @ Prospect Park Bandshell
6/14 – The Neville Brothers
6/16 – Joan Osborne / The Jazz Passengers: The Supremes Project
6/21 – The Richard Thompson Band / Olabelle
6/22 – Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys / James Reams & The Barnstormers
6/26 – Manu Chao (tix)
6/27 – Manu Chao (tix)
6/29 – Groove Collective / Ravi Coltrane / Craig Harris
6/30 – The Stills / Sam Roberts Band / Malajube
7/5 – Issac Delgado / Xiomara Laugart / Pistolera
7/6 – REwind: A Cantata For Voice, Tape & Testimony
7/12 – Noche Flamenca / Andrew J. Nemr & CPD Plus / Darrah Carr Dance
7/13 – Zoé / The Pinker Tones / Chetes
7/14 – Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra With Mark O’Connor And Maya Beiser
7/15 – Frank London’s Yiddish Carnival
7/18 – Ani Difranco (tix)
7/19 – Movie: Hitchcock’s Blackmail With Alloy Orchestra / Morley
7/20 – Bobby “Blue” Bland / Catherine Russell
7/21 – Hal Willner’s Doc Pomus Project Featuring Ben E. King / Teddy Thompson / Steven Bernstein / Joel Dorn / Adam Dorn / Peter Guralnick and many others
7/22 – Dan Zanes & Friends
7/26 – Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
7/27 – Movie: Laurel & Hardy With The Millennial Territory Orchestra / Ethan Lipton
7/28 – Boricua Festival: Tito Rojas / Joe Cuba Sextet / Viento De Agua / David Cedeño & others
8/2 – Brave New World Repertory Theater: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry / Jenny Scheinman
8/3 – Lyricist Lounge With KRS-ONE / Ladybug Mecca / Blitz / Beat Entertainment / Turntable Anihilists
8/4 – Kassav’ / Bonga
8/9 – The Hold Steady / The Big Sleep / The Teenage Prayers
8/10 – Movie: Bollywood In Brooklyn: Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin / Dj Rekha’s Bollywood Disco
8/11 – African Festival: Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars / Sekouba Bambino / Stella Chiweshe / Shiko Mawatu / Baye Kouyaté et les Tougarakés
For more info all the shows click HERE…
May11
Got to see two really great shows this week (Beirut / Final Fantasy and Arcade Fire) so thought I should include them in my Five4Friday. Enjoy!
Click HERE to download…
1. “Be Mine Everyone” – Sam Champion – Untitled (2007)
2. “Born On A Train” – Arcade Fire – KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic (2005)
3. “Scenic World” – Beirut – Gulag Orkestar (2006)
4. “Took You Two Years To Win My Heart” – Final Fantasy – Final Fantasy Has A Good Name (2005)
5. “Hip Check!” – The Come Ons – Hip Check! (2001)
May4
To download click HERE…
1. “1234″ – Feist – The Reminder (2007)
2. “Mushaboom” (Feist cover) – Bright Eyes – B-Sides (2005)
3. “Banana Ghost” – Man Man – Six Demon Bag (2006)
4. “The Crow” – Tony Trischka w/ Steve Martin – Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular (2007)
5. “Human Behavior” (Bjork cover) – The Decemberists – Interpreting Bjork (2004)
May2
The Flight of the Conchords guys have been in NYC/LA shooting their upcoming HBO series, but haven’t been playing any shows. Luckily before FotC head off to Bonnaroo they have a few gigs in NYC & Philly. Saw them last year at Mo Pitkin’s and they were absolutely hysterical. Tickets for the Gramercy Theatre shows go onsale this Friday, May 4th @ 12pm via Ticketbastard.
Flight of the Conchords Upcoming Gigs
June 12 2007 – Theater of Living Arts – Philadelphia
June 13 2007 – Gramercy Theatre – New York NY
June 14 2007 – Gramercy Theatre – New York NY
June 16 2007 – Bonnaroo Festival – Manchester TN
June 17 2007 – Bonnaroo Festival – Manchester TN
June 30 2007 – McCaw Hall – Seattle WA
July 11 2007 – El Rey – Los Angeles CA
If you have no idea who FotC are, the best place to start is with their HBO Comedy Special…here are some YouTube clips:
April27
Click HERE to download…
1. “Icky Thump (XM Radio Rip)” – The White Stripes – Icky Thump (2007)
2. “Chelsea Dagger” – The Fratellis – Costello Music (2007)
3. “Read My Mind” – The Killers – Sam’s Town (2006)
4. “Good Morning, Herr Horst” – Mando Diao – Ode To Ochrasy (2007)
5. “The Angry Mob” – Kaiser Chiefs – Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007)
March5
The Brooklyn based indie folk pop band The Essex Green’s album “Cannibal Sea” was one of my favorites of 2006. Their timeless music is Mamas And The Papas meets Belle & Sebastian. While I would rather want to see them at an outdoor venue during a sun drenched summer day with a babbling brook or mountain as the backdrop, a chilly sunday night in NYC at the Mercury Lounge would have to suffice. I mention wanting to see them outdoors because their music and personalities make me think about nature and New England and Northern California in the 60′s.
The show last night was my first time seeing The Essex Green and it was a lot of fun in spite of some technical difficulties beforehand and Sasha Bell (vocals/keys/flute) having a few brain farts with the lyrics. They played almost the entire “Cannibal Sea” album, which I was happy about, with a few other songs mixed in. The harmonizing between Sasha and Chris Ziter (vocals/guitar) on vocals wasn’t as strong as I would have liked, but still tranquil and sweet. Unlike most indie folk bands, Tim Barnes on drums gives you a beat that makes you want to move and the same goes for Julia Rydholm on bass. What I love about The Essex Green is that they incorporate the folk / pop / northern california music of the 60′s but still sound fresh and new. I hope to catch them again this summer…the South Street Seaport would be nice…somebody work on making that happen.
January30
What a great, great show last night. From top to bottom I highly enjoyed all three bands. Got to the Mercury Lounge (not before having my obligatory cheesesteak at the Cheesestake Factory beforehand…actually got the chicken this time which was just OK)…anyway, got to the Mercury Lounge at the beginning of The White Rabbits set. This first thing that caught my eye about this Brooklyn based band is they have two drummers…and not in that one is on drums and one is on percussion, but two actual drummers with full on drum kits. In sync when they had to be and at not one time did I think the drums were too much. The lead singer on guitar was fine, but things were at their peak when the keyboard player would take the vox. Looking forward to checking out this local band again in the near future.
Next up was the trio from Toronto Born Ruffians. Their onstage antics and the drumming stylings of Steve Hamelin reminded me of Man Man (which is a complete compliment). At first lead singer/guitarist Luke LaLonde looks like he is out of place with his bandmates, but then you quickly see the commradory with their pre-set huddle song. Luke is a shy frontman (or backman since his mic was actually behind the rest of the band), but he has got a good indie voice and engaging lyrics. They played a lot of new material (at least that is what they claimed…I wouldn’t have known the difference) and did a nice cover of Grizzly Bear’s “The Knife“. A solid fun set from the Born Ruffians…Canada would be proud. They are playing at the Mercury Lounge again on Wednesday if you wanna check them out.
And to put a perfect cap on the evening was Peter, Bjorn & John. This was their second NYC show ever (they played a secret warm-up gig the night before at Union Hall in Brooklyn) and PB&J were loving it. A packed and surprisingly (for a bunch of hipsters) energetic crowd gave these Stockholm natives a warm and highly supportive reception. Their set was far from perfect, but nobody seemed to care…hey it’s hard singing in English when you speak Swedish. Constant funny stage banter kept everyone happy and gave us all a sense of intimacy with the band. They were having fun, we were having fun…and the music wasn’t that bad either. The highlight of the night would have to be when Victoria Bergsman came up to sing “Young Folks”…great song and the reason I bought my ticket in the first place. She is just so shy and innocent…such a nice song. “Young Folks” was followed by a stripped down and unique version of “Amsterdam”…the only other song I had heard before the show. I had high expectations for this show and PB&J delivered.
Wish I had a ticket to see them again tonight at the Bowery Ballroom. They are on the accelerated NYC venue track…Union Hall -> Mercury Lounge -> Bowery Ballroom…they are squeezing in what bands have to do over months into three short days…quite a first trip. And unlike I talked about with the Cold War Kids…Peter, Bjorn & John are ready for any venue you give them. Not sure when, but these guys will be back and I expect they’ll be playing Webster Hall.
Peter, Bjorn & John – Mercury Lounge – 1/29/07
Let’s Call It Off
(I Just Wanna) See Through
The Chills
Paris 2004
Far Away, By My Side
Start to Melt
Big Black Coffin
Young Folks (w/ Victoria Bergsman & Lars)
Amsterdam
Detects On My Affection
Up Against the Wall
Teen Love
I Don’t Know What I Want to Do
Collect, Select, Reflect
Earlier that day Peter, Bjorn & John were on Conan O’Brien and I got home just in time to catch them performing “Young Folks”. Here is the clip on YouTube:
And here is a YouTube clip of the video for “Young Folks”:
January29
So could last week be the best music I’ll see all year?? Metzger (solo) / Danjaboots / Cold War Kids / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Freaks Ball w/ The Dansettes / Chris Hartford & The Band of Changes / Apollo Sunshine…it sure is gonna be tough to beat.
First up this week is Peter, Bjorn and John at the Mercury Lounge tonight. This Stockholm trio (Peter Morén, Bjorn Yttling, and John Erikkson) are making a rare U.S. appearance in support of their critically acclaimed album Writer’s Block being released in the states next week. This show has been sold-out for months and like Man Man at the beginning of January I decided to buy a ticket after only hearing a couple of their songs…don’t let me down PB&J! Also, Victoria Bergman (of The Concretes) will be performing with them as well.
Peter, Bjorn and John
Monday, January 29th, 2007
Mercury Lounge – NYC
Doors: 8pm – $15
Plus: Born Ruffians / The White Rabbits
Next up is Emergency Party at the Knitting Factory (Tap Bar). I’m going to this show purely off the glowing review Neddy gave them a few weeks ago.
Emergency Party
Knitting Factory (Tap Bar) – NYC
Doors: 7pm – $8
Plus: Dead Rabbit / Salute the Dawn / Murray
Having missed the Knockout Drops when they opened for The Bogmen back in December, I want to check them out this Friday at the Mercury Lounge. Don’t really know what to expect, but with Chris Campion on vocals it’s sure to be fun.
Knockout Drops
Mercury Lounge – NYC
Doors: 8pm – $10
Plus: Band of Thieves / Luxury / The Realm
The New Orleans FUNK band Galactic returns to NYC on Saturday. However, the $25 ticket charge will prolly keep me away…but with Reggie Watts on the bill and having not seen them in a couple years, I might reconsider.
Galactic
Saturday, February 3rd, 2007
Irving Plaza – NYC
Doors: 8pm – $25
Plus: Reggie Watts / Papa Mali
January26
http://tinyurl.com/yroq5t
1. “Rehad” – Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (2006)
2. “Different Sound” – Teddybears – Soft Machine (2006)
3. “First Day of My Life” – Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s
Morning (2005)
4. “+81″ – Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity (2007)
5. “Down To Rest” – O’Death – Head Home (2006)
Click HERE to see past Five4Fridays.
The Prospect Park Bandshell is one of the best places (South Street Seaport is prolly the best) to see FREE live music during the summer in NYC. Last year I only saw two shows (Maceo Parker w/ Prince & Broken Social Scene), which is pretty sad considering I literally live directly across the street. I plan on making up for lost time and hitting as many as I can this year, so give me a ring if you are ever up for a night in the park. And here is the schedule…
Been listening to their new album Country Ghetto since it was released last week and it’s pretty darn good, but nothing will ever beat Blackwater for me. With three albums now under his belt, JJ has an amazing catalog of songs to choose from. It must be fun deciding what to play each night. For the first time, they added a horn section this tour. It’s definitely a nice touch and fills out their sound well, but I felt they could have been utilized more. For most songs I had completely forgot they were even there. And Daryl Hance (guitar) kills me every time I see them. Daryl just sits there as though he rather be anywhere else but on stage. Never smiling, never showing any emotion, lifeless…just apathetically picking at his guitar. I’ve seen Mofro five or six times and he is like that EVERY time. And while all the members of the band have changed over the years, Daryl is always stage right to JJ…I wanna know what the story is…is that just his personality…can JJ not throw him out of the band because he saved his life…or am I just not getting him…why so glum Daryl?
During the song “The Sun Is Shining Down” JJ got so emotionally he was literally shedding tears. The song is about his grandfather that past away and I’m not sure if he always gets that emotionally or if something particular had happened that day or maybe it was some sort of anniversary. Regardless, it was very moving to see JJ on stage letting all his emotions loose (take note Daryl). Actually, JJ introduced one of their new songs as being about a friend of his that was addicted to Oxycontin…maybe he’s talking about Daryl and that’s why he’s always in a malaise.