We’ve got old songs
We’ve got new songs
We’ve got songs we can’t play
We’ve got a spaceship
But we won’t leave without you
With those words, Bono and his friends in U2 launched their rocket ship from its pad in Gillette Stadium to kick off the first show of a two-night stand there. Hours later, I’m not sure that any of us who were fortunate enough to have been in the audience last night have returned to earth yet.
I am what you would call a casual U2 fan. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the music they’ve made over the years. I appreciate the political stands they’ve taken, and the charitable causes that they embrace. All of those aspects of their career were on display last night. Still, this show on their current “360 Tour” was only the third that I’ve ever seen, and my first since the Joshua Tree tour more than 20 years ago.
There has been much talk about the size of the current production. The band has been criticized by their peers and in the press for spending an enormous amount of money on the staging in the midst of such difficult economic times. Guess what? Once the music begins, all of that is immediately forgotten. What U2 has created is a truly thoughtful multimedia experience. This is not just smoke and mirrors for their own sake. Everything has meaning and depth, and the technology is breathtaking. The sound was as good as I’ve ever heard in a stadium setting, and the band was in top form musically. (more…)
Asbury Park’s storied Stone Pony isn’t the same since Live Nation took over. That cuts both ways. On the plus side, an enormous new stage has been constructed out back, and space has been created for a lot more people to attend the promoter’s Summerstage shows, thus allowing the club to bring major acts to the cradle of N.J. rock and roll. On the other hand, gone is the collegial atmosphere that once made the club an appealing place for members of the large local music scene to hang out, and perform. It was performances by local artists like Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, and others that put this club on the map. That seems largely forgotten now. I guess business is business.
Putting all that aside, it was certainly a lovely evening at the Jersey Shore when the Black Crowes came to town. It was my second time seeing the band. I had been very impressed with their performance at the Newport Folk Festival in the summer of ‘08, and I was looking forward to seeing them again. The bonus was that in the interim, guitarist Luther Dickinson (of the North Mississippi Allstars) had joined the band. He promised to be a good addition to the band, and he delivered on that promise big time. Led by the two guitar attack of Dickinson and brother Rich Robinson, and the vocal intensity of brother Chris Robinson, the Black Crowes blew away a capacity crowd on the late-summer evening. (more…)
To be honest, I had my doubts about Day Two of Folk Festival 50. First of all, I was still tired from the day one. Next, it appeared that the lineup wasn’t quite as strong as it was on Saturday, and yet it was hard to deny that there were some compelling artists scheduled. The weather was also a bit iffy, with rain and thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon.
Josh Ritter was the first performer on the Fort Stage on Sunday, and he was one of the prime reasons that I was at the festival. I’m a big fan of the Idaho songwriter, and his set did not disappoint. He appeared with his full band, and they sounded great on songs like “Right Moves,” and “Real Long Distance” from Josh’s most recent album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, and on the title track from his 2003 album Hello Starling. The real standout however, was one that Josh played solo, the beautiful and powerful anti-war song “Girl In the War.” He dedicated “Another New World” to Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. Not only is Josh a wonderful songwriter and performer, he comes across as a completely genuine guy, and the early audience at Fort Adams was very appreciative. (more…)
The word “legend” is sorely abused and overused by music journalists, just as the word “genius” is. I am as guilty as anyone else, but I have an excuse ready to go. The older you get, the more legends your life seems to take on. People who were just great musicians when you were younger take on a sepia-tinged status with the fog of time. Now that I’ve said that, I have to ask a more or less rhetorical question: how does a writer avoid using the word “legend” when he attends an event at which there are performances by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Guy Clark, Arlo Guthrie, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott? Legends all, no matter what era you came up in.
They called it Folk Festival 50 this year, but the event was a celebration of the of the birth of the Newport Folk Festival. It’s a long, twisted story, but a few months ago there was a real possibility that the great event would not live to see its 50th birthday. Then the man who started the whole thing in the first place, George Wein (who also established the Newport Jazz Festival in 1954), stepped in to make sure that his baby had life. Wein had sold the rights a few years back, and the subsequent owners had failed to meet some of their obligations. As a result, Wein returned, but he still hasn’t won the right to use the name that he honored for so many years. Hopefully that will change soon, and next year it will become the Newport Folk Festival again.
You may have heard of Newport, R.I., or even paid a visit. It is one of America’s playgrounds, famous for its great mansions, and as the home for sailing’s America’s Cup for many years. The city sits on a peninsula, surrounded by Narragansett Bay, and Rhode Island Sound. There are beautiful water views in every direction, and the city takes full advantage of its location. On the northern end of the peninsula sits Fort Adams. The Fort was established on July 4, 1799, and has been home to the festival since it was revived after a 15 year absence in 1985. (more…)
WXPN is the listener sponsored Triple A radio station associated with the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and one of the finest stations of its kind in the United States. The station is known for treating its listeners as family, and toward that end WXPN has been throwing a summer weekend festival since 1994. In the beginning, it was called the Singer Songwriter Weekend, and it was held at Penns Landing, a beautiful outdoor venue right on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. A few years back, pending construction closed Penns Landing. The event’s name was changed to the XPoNential Music Festival, and moved across the river to Wiggins Park in Camden, NJ, an equally beautiful riverfront venue.
There are two stages at the festival, the main or River Stage, and the smaller Marina Stage. Beginning on Friday night, popular artists from the station’s playlist alternate sets through Sunday evening. I was only able to attend the Saturday festivities, and since most of the artists that I really wanted to see were playing on the River Stage, that’s where I focused my attention for the day. People gathered in front of the stage in varying numbers, while on the half-bowl hillside facing the stage, hundreds were set up with their beach chairs.
Between Jersey shore traffic on the Garden State Parkway, and Six Flags Great Adventure traffic on the N.J. Turnpike, the trip which would normally take me not more than 90 minutes clocked in at nearly twice that. I was happy to arrive just in time to see the first band of the day that I really had some interest in. Brooklyn’s young Yeasayer played a compelling set that blended electronica, psych, and tribal rhythms. They opened the set with two promising songs from their upcoming new album. Guitarist Anand Wilder is handling a few more lead vocal chores now, and I enjoyed his more pop-oriented songs. (more…)
I admit it. I’m jaded. After seeing more than 50 Bruce Springsteen shows over the years, with and without the E Street Band, it’s gotten to the point where I just don’t look forward to the shows as much as I used to. The thing is, while I might not look forward to the shows with the same youthful eagerness, I always seem to leave the shows feeling re-energized, my ever more flagging faith in rock and roll renewed. That’s certainly what happened when I saw Springsteen and the band on the first night of their recent two night stand at the Izod Arena.
While I’m sure the E Street Band plays great shows all over the world, and I’ve seen a few in other cities myself, there is nothing quite like seeing them at home in NJ. It’s like a bunch of dear old friends getting together for a few hours to party like we used to back in the day. We might not be that young anymore, but we show a little faith, and our faith is rewarded.
More than one of our old friends was missing at this show. Organist Danny Federici is gone, a victim of melanoma, but his presence is very real at every show. On this night, drummer Max Weinberg was also absent due to his Conan O’Brian commitments, ceding the drum throne to his son Jay for the evening. The 18-year-old Weinberg was a dominant force throughout the show, giving the older guys and ladies a bit of a kick in the ass now and then, and upping the energy quotient substantially. Springsteen’s sheer joy and pride in the young drummer was evident throughout the show. The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, was moving slow, and sitting at some points, but his sound is still as big as his giant heart. (more…)
An overwhelming 27,000 people showed up to see David Byrne play a free show at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn on Monday night. The show was the opening of the 2009 Celebrate Brooklyn concert series. Celebration was easily the theme of the night, whether you were celebrating the fact that it didn’t rain, the fact that you managed to actually get inside the bandshell (many were detoured by the long, snake-like line, which purportedly began just before 11am), or the fact that you were seeing a legendary performer for free (or the cost of your donation).
The show’s focus was Byrne’s work with Eno, covering the Talking Heads’ three pivotal, mid-career albums, and their two collab LPs, 1981’sMy Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and last year’s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, with the latter release unsurprisingly taking the most focus. (Which explains the absence of hits like “Psycho Killer,” “And She Was,” and “Road To Nowhere.”) Still, Byrne brought out some of the bigger Talking Heads players, all of which got the crowd going – “I Zimbra,” “Crosseyed & Painless,” “Once In A Lifetime,” “Burning Down The House” (See video below!), “Life During Wartime,” and the group’s funky Al Green cover, “Take Me to the River.” The hopeful attitude of the newer material was especially fitting, as Byrne serenaded, “I’m counting all the possibilities,” in “My Big Nurse.” (more…)
Save the massive excitement surrounding what was claimed to be his first and only show in the U.S. (though it seems he played Chicago three nights prior), everything about Wolfgang Voigt’s show at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre on Friday night was minimal. Performing under the name of his popular ambient electronic project, GAS, Voigt was hardly discernible in the dim light of Petra Hollenbach’s video accompaniment, a white, triangular portion of his shirt more visible than his face.
Primarily known as a co-founder of the German techno label, Kompakt, Voigt made four albums under the GAS moniker, all of which were re-released as the box set Nah und Fern last year. Beginning in 1995, Voigt attributes the original inspiration for GAS to an LSD trip spent wandering in Germany’s Black Forest.
GAS successfully captures a natural atmosphere with ambient sounds akin to rain, wind, waves and rustling leaves. String and brass instruments float in and out, and techno beats are occasionally incorporated in a muffled manner, as though hearing someone bumping their car stereo from a couple blocks away.
In an effort to make the performance more than just a laptop show, Voigt used a mixer to make subtle manipulations and transitions, though he primarily remained faithful to the original material. Video art from Hollenbach used Voigt’s own photography – also featured on the GAS releases’ album art – to create moving psychedelic forest images, stimulating the eyes in a similar way as the ears. Some audience members were lulled into unfortunately timed slumber while others softly nodded their heads. Drugs weren’t needed to feel Voigt’s desired affect – though they certainly would’ve been keeping with its inspiration.
Pattern Is Movement have certainly lived up to the Movement part of their name, touring relentlessly since the release of their excellent fourth album, All Together. Seeing them for the third time since October, Pattern Is Movement’s set at Webster Hall last Wednesday was yet another in a line of charged, exciting performances. The duo debuted two new songs that sounded a little more aggressive than the rest of their cannon, though that could very well be because their live sound is beefier overall. Drummer Chris Ward’s rapid-fire drumming must be seen to be believed that there’s not some kind of magician responsible for some of those beats, and singer/keyboardist Andrew Thiboldeaux is both collected and charismatic, their mutual sense of whimsy exemplified in their constantly expressive faces and a flirty cover of D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel?)” (see video below).
Headliner St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) was surprisingly staid. Having whipped through New York City oozing charm and cutesiness in the past, the first half of her set was underwhelming, the sound a little flat and thin, the band just trudging through. Though she pulled out impressive riff after impressive riff, and heartbreaking vocal after heartbreaking vocal, everything seemed just a little off until the band returned to join her after a brief solo stint for “Oh My God.” Luckily they hit their stride in time for “Marrow,” the most savage song she’s written yet. As she waltzed through “Just the Same But Brand New” and dug out first album favorites “Marry Me, John” and “Your Lips Are Red” for the encore, it was easy to chalk the tepid first half to a case of nerves.
After seeing jam-freak-avant-folksters Akron/Family put on an incredible show at Brooklyn’s Union Pool in March, there was only one thing left to do: Go home, go online, buy tickets to see them again. After seeing Akron/Family put on an incredible show at Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom last night, there’s only one conclusion that can be made: Akron/Family are one of the best live bands currently out there. Rarely is a show as lively and diverse as Akron/Family’s.
If you broke down their set and described it, song by song, it’d be hard to believe it’s all the same show. Most of all, Akron/Family is dynamic, moving from delightfully understated, pretty ballads like “Alps and the Orange Evergreen” and “Crickets,” to epic-lengthed jam-dance numbers “Gravelly Mountains of the Moon” and fan favorite, “Ed Is A Portal.” Most of Wednesday night’s set was dominated by songs from their brand new album, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, just released this past Tuesday.
But what really sets Akron/Family apart is the level of interaction, both between band members and with the audience. Three songs into the show, guitarist/vocalist Seth Olinsky invited members of the openers, William Parker’s Southern Satellites, on stage to play along with them. Throughout the show, bassist Miles Seaton played a cheerleader of sorts, inviting the audience to sing, snap, clap, dance. “I feel like you’re just staring at us. Maybe you could put your hands up or something,” he said, demonstrating, before “Creatures,” a groovy, bass heavy tune from the new album. (more…)
To be honest, I had my doubts about Day Two of Folk Festival 50. First of all, I was still tired from the day one. Next, it appeared that the lineup wasn’t quite as strong as it was on Saturday, and yet it was hard to deny that there were some compelling artists scheduled. The weather was also a bit iffy, with rain and thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon.
The word “legend” is sorely abused and overused by music journalists, just as the word “genius” is. I am as guilty as anyone else, but I have an excuse ready to go. The older you get, the more legends your life seems to take on. People who were just great musicians when you were younger take on a sepia-tinged status with the fog of time. Now that I’ve said that, I have to ask a more or less rhetorical question: how does a writer avoid using the word “legend” when he attends an event at which there are performances by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Guy Clark, Arlo Guthrie, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott? Legends all, no matter what era you came up in.
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