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22 May
2012

Jack White 5/21 Roseland Ballroom NYC Review/Photos

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By Michel Dussack

It’s a testament to Jack White’s popularity that when I arrived at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom 40 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open, the line of people waiting to get inside went up 52nd street, wrapped around the corner, and then proceeded to wrap around another corner onto 53rd street. By the time the doors opened (3o minutes before the time printed on the tickets) the line was several hundred strong, all of whom were slightly damp from the day-long rainstorm that soaked the city. This was the first of two sold out shows at the legendary venue and as fans trickled in past the large signs prohibiting photographing, videotaping and audio recording the performance there were many questions in the air. The most important of which, however, was which band Jack White would be performing with that night. White has brought two bands on tour with him – the all-male Los Buzzardos and the all-female The Peacocks, and no one is told who will be playing until the band walk on stage.

The 90 minute set (which flew by all too quickly) encompassed material from every project White has had his hands in – from The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs to the Danger Mouse/Daniele Luppi project Rome. On main focus throughout the night, though, were songs from his critically acclaimed solo album ‘Blunderbuss’ and choice cuts from the extensive White Stripes catalogue. Opening the show with one of The White Stripes’ biggest hits, ‘Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground’ set the bar high for the night and provided a chance for Los Buzzardos to show off their talent early on. Every song was given more of a country twang thanks in part to fiddles and slide guitars throughout, yet White’s guitar prowess was still the main attraction. Of particular note was drummer Daru Jones, who is one of the fiercest drummers I’ve ever seen. During some of his more energetic moments, he lifted out of his chair from his sheer momentum and resorted to drumming standing up.

Another interesting aspect of the performance was that there seemed to be no paper setlists on the stage for band members to refer to. Instead, it seemed that White would call out what song to play next to his band mates and often added improvisational guitar solos at a whim, forcing the band to attempt to keep up with one of the best guitarists in the business.

Every song from ‘Blunderbuss’ was somehow made heavier in their live performances, especially tracks like ‘Sixteen Saltines’ and ‘Freedom at 21’. A cover of Hank Williams’ ‘You Know That I Know’ was slipped into the set towards the end with White jokingly asking if New York could ‘handle a country song’. Aside from a quick story told by White (which was nearly impossible to understand from the back of the venue) this was all the talking the audience got from him. Highlights of the night included a set closing ‘Ball and Biscuit’, a tweaked version of ‘Steady, As She Goes’ and the fan favorite ‘Hello Operator’.

The singular highlight of the show for most of the crowd was indeed the show closing ‘Seven Nation Army’ and from the first note of what is possibly the last greatest guitar riff they were singing along with it. The crowd grew so loud in fact, that White silenced his band during the last verse and sung while the crowd continued singing the guitar riff and clapping the drum beat. And just like that, White thanked the crowd for coming out, and vanished off the stage for the night. Everyone in the venue filed out with a gigantic smile on their face, having just seen what is arguably this generation’s greatest guitarist play the most memorable guitar riff of the past 15 years.

Jack White setlist
1. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (White Stripes)
2. Missing Pieces
3. Sixteen Saltines
4. Hypocritical Kiss
5. I Cut Like A Buffalo (The Dead Weather)
6. Trash Tongue Talker
7. Top Yourself (The Raconteurs)
8. Two Against One (Rome)
9. Black Math (White Stripes)
10. Hello Operator (White Stripes)
11. Weep Themselves to Sleep
12. You Know That I Know (Hank Williams cover)
13. Blunderbuss
14. Ball and Biscuit (White Stripes)
Encore
15. Freedom At 21
16. Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs)
17. Take Me With You When You Go
18. Catch Hell Blues (White Stripes)
19. Seven Nation Army (White Stripes)

All photos courtesy of Michel Dussack

20 May
2012

The Darkness 5/18 Toad’s Place New Haven Review/Photos

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By Matt Arena

Very few bands can pull off being ridiculous. When they try, it’s usually weak attempts at being over-the-top or wacky that just feels forced. Fortunately there are bands out there like The Darkness. They manage to be ridiculous, but pull it off in the most awesome way imaginable. After calling it quits to form new projects in 2006, they reformed early last year and currently have a new album, ‘Hot Cakes’, slated for release in the late summer. The band got a big boost in the form of a primetime ad during The Super Bowl, seemingly reminding people that The Darkness had reformed. Add to that the massive exposure they’ll get as support for Lady Gaga’s upcoming UK tour, and it’s clear that The Darkness are back in a big way. Continuing the slew of shows started early this year, they brought their version of glam rock to Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT.

Booked as support for this brief stint of the US tour were Belgian rockers, The Black Box Revelation. This garage rock two-piece has enjoyed success overseas, opening for acts like Eagles of Death Metal and Iggy Pop, all while releasing two well-received studio albums. The packed crowd at Toad’s Place gave them headliner’s treatment, as many in the front row were dancing wildly to the band’s undeniably groovy sounds. Coming off like the bastard child of a modern blues and 90’s grunge band, The Black Box Revelation are able to make an incredible amount of noise with just two guys. Lead singer/guitarist Jan Paternoster oozes an old school rock vibe as he crunched out the dirty blues riffs and crooned the equally catchy choruses. Backed by drummer Dries Van Dijck, who bashed on his kit louder than though possible, the band’s tunes were no doubt well received by the audience as they exited the stage to cheers from almost every person in attendance. They have a new album coming out next week, and without a doubt are worth checking out.

After a brief changeover, the house lights went down as The Darkness came out to what can only be described as a garbled transmission from an alien species as they made their way through a thick layer of fog to their instruments. Almost as soon as the guitar was in his hand, guitarist Dan Hawkins launched into the instantly recognizable riff of ‘Black Shuck,’ a screamer of a track off the band’s debut album Permission to Land. Working as a perfect opening track, it set the tone for the rest of the night with loud guitars and high-pitched screams. The Darkness played an array of songs off both their studio albums, as well as a select choice of new songs from their forthcoming album. Songs like the newly released single, ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us,’ were received incredibly well by the crowd, who even sang along to the brand new tune. Proving why they’re still a force to be reckoned with, Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins provided a slew of energy as he bounced almost non-stop around the stage. Leaning over the stage’s edge into the crowd numerous times, Hawkins challenged the crowd to meet his seemingly boundless level of energy. And they did. As he dipped the mic into the crowd, they didn’t miss a beat, yelling back the well-known choruses to hits like ‘Growing on Me’ and ‘Love is Only a Feeling.’

One might think The Darkness would be one of those bands people came to see only knowing their one big hit (in this case said hit would be, ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love), but the crowd was packed with hardcore fans who knew almost every word to every song. For a band that only has two studio albums, they sure gave the people their money’s worth. Cranking out 20 songs in total, including a wicked cover of Radiohead’s Street Spirit, they took this opportunity to showcase 2 more new songs to give fans a taste of what Hot Cakes will sound like. The older material certainly wasn’t ignored either, with a healthy cut of tracks of their massively successful debut, Permission to Land. Though it may seem cliché, the highlight of the night had to be ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love.’ It’s hard not to be blown away by a song that can send the crowd into a frenzy with a mere tease of a few notes on the guitar. The entire venue was literally bouncing, as even the stranglers near the back were jumping along with the rest of the crowd. During the final song of the night, ‘Love on the Rocks with No Ice’ Justin Hawkins jumped on the back of a roadie and played the intricate guitar solo in the midst of the crowd. This perfectly embodied what makes The Darkness such great live performers. They’re off the wall, full of energy, unpredictable, and are still able to play on one of the most entertaining sets you will ever see.

Setlist:
Black Shuck
Growing On Me
Best of Me
One Way Ticket
Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us
Get Your Hands Off My Woman
Out of this World
Holding My Own (acoustic)
Love is Only a Feeling
Concrete
Friday Night
Every Inch of You
Is it Just Me
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
With a Woman
Givin Up
Stuck in a Rut
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
Hazel Eyes
Love on the Rocks with No Ice

18 May
2012

A Day To Remember 5/9 Starland Ballroom NJ Review/Photos

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By Keeyahtay Lewis

Holy shit. I have seen A Day To Remember play twice now, and both times I was left with just that thought: Holy shit. Maybe I should leave that for the end of the review but I think it is a pretty accurate way to start this off. I haven’t seen anyone bring more energy and just raw power to the stage in a long time. Last Wednesday night, they had an off day in between shows with Rise Against and they decided to spend it at Starland Ballroom. I had a chance to talk to Neil Westfall, guitar player, before the show. He said that they absolutely love playing NJ and didn’t want to pass up a chance to play for us all on their day off.

They opened up, like they often do, with The Downfall Of Us All. That is a pretty perfect song to open up an ADTR show; it starts out so heavy before some clean vocals kick in. It never ever fails to get every single person on their feet and moving. And move they did. Starland Ballroom was very, very sold out for this show. The floor was a pit of chaos, and ADTR loves it that way. A Shot In The Dark, I Am Made of Wax Larry, and My Life For Hire were all next. Along with the band kicking out a lot of beach balls to the audience. They never fail to make the crowd feel like an important part of what is happening on stage.

Leading all this chaos is singer/screamer Jeremy McKinnon. Neil Westfall and Kevin Skaff are on guitars. Josh Woodard was on bass, with Alex Shellnutt on guitar. ADTR are road warriors and they have the live show down a science. Not that it feels forced, but it is definitely a well oiled machine.At times bursts of smoke take over the stage, or the beach balls flinging through the air, they take it all in with a smile. I want to say too how much the band engages with the crowd. Especially McKinnon. Even while we are in the photo pit shooting he gets low and makes sure that we can all get amazing shots. You seem him too reach out a million different times to grab some kids hand, or even just smile and wave to someone in the back. The rest of the band follows suit. It is easy to see that they really love playing and love being able to fill any venue with screaming, singing, moshing, crowd surfing kids going batshit crazy.

Fast Forward to 2012 was next, and McKinnon forgot the whole first verse. He made a joke about it and laughed, and it was hardly even noticed. One small misstep in what was turning out to be another amazing show. All Signs Point To Lauderdale, 2nd Sucks, You Be Tails I’ll Be Sonic, Homesick…every song was a hit. At one point someone dressed as Gumby came out and fired t shirts into the crowd. And during Homesick McKinnon did the thing I was hoping he would do: he got into a huge inflatable ball and walked into the crowd. Fucking awesome.

Have Faith In Me was next and it was a clear fan favorite, with everyone singing louder than McKinnon could. Then they played an old one from their first album, You Should Have Killed Me When You Had The chance. It was hard to believe that the floor could get even crazier, but it did. McKinnon instructed someone to actually crowd surf on another person, and some kid in the audience did just that. At this point not only do we have beach balls flying through the air, toilet paper being flung around by the band, CO2 explosions with smoke and lights, but we also have the craziest pit I have ever seen. The security at Starland had their work cut out for them. In fact, at one point McKinnon thanked the security for “not being dicks and keeping everyone safe.”

It was encore time and the band had three good ones ready to go. All I Want was first, followed by If It Means A Lot To You. The latter song started out acoustic with McKinnon and Skaff before the band kicked in for the louder second half. The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle was their last song, and they left the stage with the energy still at an absolute high.

Such a good show. The band also talked about going back home to Florida after their last tour date to work on the new album, which they announced would be called Common Courtsey, and they should actually be working on it right now.

A lot of people I think instinctually want to dismiss ADTR or speak poorly of them. Honestly, I have no idea why. There are not many bands out there that sound consistently amazing while playing at such a high energy and volume. I love those dudes, and I would see them play any chance I got. One of the best shows I have seen this year so far.

All photos courtesy of Keeyahtay Lewis of DeadBoltPhotos.com


18 May
2012

The Gaslight Anthem 5/16 Music Hall of Williamsburg Review/Photos

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By Michel Dussack

When it was announced that The Gaslight Anthem would be playing the intimate Music Hall of Williamsburg as a warm-up for their tour in support of their upcoming album ‘Handwritten’, fans did everything in their power to score tickets. However, the problem with playing intimate shows is that inevitably some fans will unfortunately be shut out of tickets, and for this show, scalpers resorted to the extreme length of making fake tickets. Those that did get in, however, were treated to an excellent hour and 45 minute set that encompassed all three of the bands prior albums as well as a couple of tracks from ‘Handwritten’.

As the lights dimmed in the packed venue, Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’ rang out through the venue’s PA system and The Gaslight Anthem stepped on stage to perform. Their 21 song set wasn’t so much to preview material off the upcoming album, as many fans hoped it would be, but rather to get back into the groove of playing the other material in preparation for their full tour which includes stops at Bamboozle and Orion Music. Something that people don’t seem to grasp about The Gaslight Anthem is just how dedicated their fan base is, especially in the New York/New Jersey area, and every song played was treated like a hit.

Part of the reason for that is because how perfectly the set was paced. Hits such as ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘American Slang’ came early, but others such as ‘The Queen of Lower Chelsea’ and ‘The Spirit of Jazz’ were saved for the end. Two new songs were also played throughout the night – new single ‘45’ and ‘Biloxi Parish’ which made its live debut last year.

Front man Brian Fallon is another major part of the appeal of the band – his stage presence is equal parts confident, funny, and genuinely nice. In between songs, he talked about how it was the first show that the band was live streaming online and mentioned how the band was forming a fan club to prevent scalping from future shows. After ‘Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts’ he sang a line from Tom Gabel’s ‘Harsh Realms’, most notably the line “Yeah it’s a harsh realm, don’t abandon me”, as a sign of support for Gabel coming out as transgender.

The rest of the band can more than keep up with Fallon, and the trio of guitars from Alex Rosamilia, Ian Perkins and Fallon himself formed a wall of riffs that was powerful while not being overbearing. Bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz rounded out the band, and Levin in particular was a focal point throughout the night, getting in the faces of the sweaty crowd to mouth lyrics to them.

Towards the end of the night, Fallon mentioned how they were going to play a Slayer cover before laughing and confessing that the bands slowest song was next. ‘Here’s Looking at You, Kid’ followed, and it received large amounts of cheers especially as Fallon referenced Brooklyn in his lyrics. ‘The Backseat’ closed the main set with a fireball of energy and moshing that erupted a few rows back from the stage.

When The Gaslight Anthem returned for their three song encore, it seemed like they would play hits and for the first two songs, they did (‘The Spirit of Jazz’ and ‘She Loves You’.) However, Fallon announced that the next song would be a cover of one of the greatest rock and roll songs ever made, and he was right. A fierce cover of The Who’s ‘Baba O’Reilly’ followed and closed out a sweaty night with one of the best bands in the business.

All photos courtesy of Michel Dussack

18 May
2012

Neon Trees and AWOLNATION 5/8 Starland Ballroom NJ Review/Photos

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By Keeyahtay Lewis

I have been looking forward to seeing Neon Trees play for a while and last Tuesday night, I finally got my chance. They came into Starland Ballroom in New Jersey for what was sure to be a fun night. AWOLNATION were supporting them on the tour and I had heard nothing but good things about them. I was excited for the show.

AWOLNATION took the stage bathed in gorgeous lights. I have heard that AWOLNATION songs have been used in commercials and other places, but I had never seen them live. I came into the show with an open mind, and was not disappointed. They opened with People, Not Your Fault, and Guilty Filthy Soul. The first two songs we definitely keyboard driven, but GFS had a great guitar riff. The lighting was absolutely beautiful and the band floated in and out of it.

Aaron Bruno is the singer and creative mind behind AWOLNATION, but he was backed with a great band for this tour. David Amezcua on bass and vocals, Drew Stewart on lead guitar, Kenny Carkeet on guitar and keyboards, and Hayden Scott on drums. It was clear from the singing along and the shirts that said, “Blame it on my A.D.D.” that the crowd was familiar with AWOLNATION. They absolutely kept my attention which isn’t easy to do since I didn’t know their music beforehand.

Kill Your Heroes, Jump On My Shoulders and Soul Wars were up next. All of their songs feature lots of keyboards and synthesizers. Bruno can changes his vocals easily from delicate to a cutting edge in a second. His energy is infectious and he used every single inch of the stage. He actually reminded me at times in movements and looks of Geoff Rickly of Thursday. All I Need was next and it had a lot of piano and 3 part harmonies. After this song there were technical difficulties with the lead guitar. It took a few minutes to sort it out and while this was going on the rest of the band broke out into a really excellent, impromptu cover of Billie Jean. Honestly, it was such a surprise to everyone and it was on point.

Joke, Sail and Burn It Down rounded out the rest of their set. Sail was the obvious hit and the room exploded when they started playing it. Again, I had never heard it before but I felt myself singing along by the second chorus. A great set all around.

Neon Trees were up next and by the time they took the stage everyone was definitely ready to see them in action. Bringing their modern version of almost 80s dance rock, they strutted out taking their places on stage. Singer Tyler Glenn came out last sporting a red leather jacket, aviator shades, and hair that was blue on the sides, and pink on top. I knew it was going to be a good show.

They wasted no time ripping into two tracks from their latest album, Picture Show. Moving in the Dark and Teenage Sounds are two tracks from that album. They followed that up from an older song, Sins of My Youth. While they are playing it is hard to take your eyes off of Glenn, he is a truly remarkable front man who owns every single inch of that stage. There was a little acrylic box on the stage and he spent a lot of time with one leg on that, leaning far out away from the stage, singing his heart out. At other times he had one leg on his keyboard stand, stretching his head back to hit some incredible notes.

Behind him doing a damn fine job were Chris Allen on guitars and vocals, Branden Campbell on bass, and Elaine Bradley on drums and vocals. Every person had their own style out there, Allen wearing a bow tie, Campbell with a jean jacket on, but it is clear that style is an important thing to Neon Trees. But certainly not syle over substance. Every song sounded great live, and they kept the energy going.

Everybody Talks, Mad Love, and Weekend were next. Then the band left and Tyler took center stage, acoustic guitar in hand, for a NJ treat. He did a pretty amazing cover of Springsteen’s I’m On Fire. It was sparse and utterly gorgeous while he was bathed in blue light. After that the band took the stage again and they ran through a few older songs: Your Surrender, Love and Affection, Lessons in Love, and a killer version of In The Next Room. Before the next song Tyler thanked everyone for coming and talked about how many people had heard the next track. Without rock radio and promotion, the next song helped make them who they are. Of course, they were talking about Animal and every person in the building lost their minds when they started playing it.

The band left the stage for a minute then came back out for two more songs. I Am The DJ was up first, and it was my first time hearing it. I was hooked right away. They closed out the set with another hit from their debut album, Habits, that song being 1983.

This wasn’t a sold out show, which is a shame. Both AWOLNATION and Neon Trees did a fine job last Tuesday night. The people who were there though, left in high spirits. I know I would absolutely see both bands play again, and I know they will both continue to grow. It was a great night of music and you should definitely catch them on tour.

All photos courtesy of Keeyahtay Lewis of DeadBoltPhotos.com



09 May
2012

Red Hot Chili Peppers 5/4 Prudential Center Newark Review/Photos

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By Michel Dussack

On May 4th, I imagine the Red Hot Chili Peppers woke up thinking their ‘I’m With You Tour’ stop at Newark’s Prudential Center that night would be similar to all the other shows on the tour so far. However, when it was announced that Adam Yauch (MCA) of Beastie Boys had passed away that day, something that had an obvious impact on the band, things got rearranged a bit.

The first clue that this would be a different night than any other was Prudential Center’s choice of music that night – as people found their seats, during the set change between Sleigh Bells (more on them in a bit), and after the show – the only thing that rang through the venues PA system was Beastie Boys. When Sleigh Bells took to the stage, which was backed a wall of amps and a black and white striped flag, singer Alexis Krauss dedicated their blistering set to MCA. Their 40 minute set comprised of a blend of material from their debut ‘Treats’ and their sophomore album ‘Reign of Terror’. Seeing a group like them play to a massive arena was interesting – while many of the fans unfamiliar with them seemed confused when they walked out without a drummer, they crowd definitely went away impressed with their brand of noise rock. Derek Miller’s bludgeoning guitar riffs and Krauss’ signature vocals contrasted each other in a way that’s lost in venues with inferior sound systems. When the band ended their set with the fantastic ‘A/B Machines’, however, it became all about Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Red Hot Chili Peppers walked out promptly at 9:15 for an hour and forty five minute set, all of which was dedicated to MCA. After all, the bands shared a kinship – they came up around the same time and were even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame together last month. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis sported a green shirt with which he wrote MCA on in black sharpie, and after the band’s second song of the night, ‘Around the World’ he spoke briefly about him.

When you’ve been around for nearly 30 years, as the Chili Peppers have been, you have a large amount of fan favorites and hits, yet somehow they seemed to be able to fit nearly all of them in save for a couple (‘Snow (Hey Oh)’ and ‘Scar Tissue’ were absent) into their set. Notable standouts included the megahit ‘Under the Bridge’ and a raucous main set closer ‘By The Way’. A cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground’ was preceded by playful banter between Flea and Kiedis, and was immediately recognized by the crowd.

New guitarist Josh Klinghoffer proved that while their newest album ‘I’m With You’ might not be as focused on guitar as previous efforts, he can stick hang with one of the best rhythm sections in the business. Chad Smith was an unstoppable wrecking ball during the show, with no loss in energy after all this time. In fact, when the band came out for the encore, he grabbed onto the lighting fixture directly over his head and hung from it for a few seconds while drumming with his feet.

And then there’s Flea, who steals the show. With an encore entrance like Smith’s, it was clear the bar was raised high for him to top, though he succeeded by walking across the entire stage on his hands. The band then began a brief jam that encompassed part of Beastie Boys’ ‘So Whatcha Want’ in it. As the band yet again thanked the crowd and announced they had one more song, there was really only one way to end the show – with ‘Give It Away’ performed flawlessly. This was what everyone had come for – and despite the seats on the main floor of the arena, people still found ways to dance and jump up and down and a band who have maintained not just relevancy throughout the years, but one who have continued to put out quality music.

The night truly ended with an extended jam featuring every member trying to outdo the others before it finally ended and Flea took to the microphone. He humbly thanked each member of the crowd before remarking how they’ve been touring for 30 years and the New York/New Jersey area was always kind to them. ‘We fucking love you guys’ he remarked before adding ‘today is truly a sad day’. As the arena emptied out and ‘Fight for Your Right’ echoed through the PA system, these words rang particularly true – yet somehow the Red Hot Chili Peppers succeeded in making a sad day seem a little bit brighter.

All photos courtesy of Michel Dussack


08 May
2012

The Shins 4/30 Terminal 5 NYC Review/Photos

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By Michel Dussack

Just when it seemed that The Shins were done, James Mercer surprised everyone by announcing the band’s heavily anticipated fourth album, ‘Port of Morrow’. Despite Mercer being the only original member still in the band, the album was a fantastic effort that received glowingly positive critical reception. On April 30th, the band came to New York’s Terminal 5 for the second of three sold out shows at the 3,000 capacity venue.

Opening the show was Brooklyn based Chairlift – consisting of singer Caroline Polachek and bassist Patrick Wimberly. During their live performances, the duo receives help from additional members including a drummer, guitarist and keyboardist. Their 30 minute long set included numerous cuts from their newest album ‘Something’ including the lead single ‘Amanaemonesia’. However, the real highlight of their set for the crowd who seemed unfamiliar with the band was when they played their biggest hit ‘Bruises’. There was a moment where the entire crowd seemed to recall that they in fact were familiar with this song (from an iPod commercial back in 2008) and they finally gave back the energy and dancing that such a fantastic opener deserved.

When Mercer and co took to the stage, the audience screamed until the first notes of the music began. Throughout the course of The Shins’ hour and forty-five minute set, they expertly mixed up material from their entire catalogue. ‘Simple Song’, arguably the bands biggest single ever, came as the second song of the set – surprisingly early in fact. While many rookie bands typically save their biggest and newer singles for last in the set, it is truly a testament of The Shins’ confidence and devoted fan base that they were able to save older songs for the close of the night.

I must confess that before the show started I was nervous as to how the new members of the band would hold up to the legacy set before their arrival; however these fears were alleviated as soon as the band started playing. Drummer Joe Plummer, bassist Yuuki Matthews, guitarist Jessica Dobson, and keyboardist Richard Swift all more than held their own and faithfully recreated all of the older material as well as formed so new pieces during extended jams led by Mercer. Dobson was particularly impressive, shredding some of the most famous indie rock riffs of the past decade without so much as breaking a sweat.

Mercer is known for being a man of few words, and this night was no different. There was nearly no interaction with the crowd, however it’s to count this as a negative of such an amazing night. Before playing the last song of the night, ‘One by One All Day’, he formally introduced his new band and thanked the crowd remarking that it was a “great night”. After a lengthy encore break, he returned to play a song solo for the crowd, which then led into a gorgeous performance of the title track off ‘Port of Morrow’. A particularly raucous and extended version of ‘Sleeping Lessons’ followed to close out the night, which for many of the devoted audience, was merely the second of three nights to be spent in Mercer’s musical company.

All photos courtesy of Michel Dussack


07 May
2012

Childish Gambino 4/30 Starland Ballroom Sayreville NJ Review/Photos

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By Keeyahtay Lewis

In the past year or so I can literally name two artists in hip hop that have come up and caught my interest. One would be J. Cole, the other, Childish Gambino. If you are reading this review, I assume you already know who Childish Gambino is; the alter ego of actor-writer-comedian Donald Glover. If you don’t know who CG is, then you are probably confused by this statement. It doesn’t seem that an actor-writer-comedian would make a decent rapper. Normally that sounds like a recipe for utter disaster, but in the hands of Donald Glover, Childish Gambino is poised to take over the world.

He was supposed to be at Starland Ballroom a few months back, but the show got moved because he fractured his foot. I waited anxiously, and finally on Monday 04/30/12 he made his way to a very, very sold out show at Starland Ballroom. He had an opening act, but honestly I was not impressed by them at all. I won’t even mention who they were or waste any more words on them.

9:00 rolled around and it was time to start the show. The stage was nothing short of gorgeous. Huge LED panels across the back, multicolored spot lights pointing into the crowd, I knew it was going to be a good one. The lights went down and the strings and choir came up. The intro was gorgeous and it faded beautifully into his first song, Outside. This is also the opening track for his latest album, Camp. CG took the stage backed by a live band, something rare in hip hop. 5 seconds into the show it was easy to see why CG fractured his foot and had to postpone the tour, his energy was off the scale. He followed up with another song from his latest album, Firefly. Firefly has a much different energy than Outside and it sounded great. Next up was a definite crowd favorite, Freaks and Geeks. The video for that song when released almost 2 years ago definitely raised his status and hype. He addressed the crowd before hand saying, “you should all know the words to this song, but if you don’t, the words will be on the screen.”

If you are familiar with his music, you know that violins, keyboards, and some actually really beautiful singing is a huge part of his songs. CG sang all the singing parts live, and his falsetto sounded strong. Backed by drums, bass, and a guy on either side of him that each had a keyboard, guitar and violin, everything sounded pretty amazing live. It is something special to see, these aren’t samples, there isn’t a DJ backing him, when you hear the violin you can see the two guys playing it. And the LED screen, man oh man. Sometimes it flashed lyrics. Sometimes it played pictures. Sometimes it danced with fireflies or stars, making you feel like you were really at “Camp Gambino.”

Camp is CG’s first proper album, but released a ton of music for free on the internet, his set list didn’t forget about those songs. So Fly, Do Ya Like, Difference, I’m On it, All The Shine, all of these older tracks were met with roars from the 2500 or so people who sang every word. At one time he sampled Adele’s Rolling In The Deep which was a hit for him. He played that on Monday night, albeit with John Legend singing Adele’s part. All the members of his band came to the front of the stage playing drums along with the song until his rap part kicked in. I thought the people inside would bring the building down with the energy they were putting out. So good.

A personal highlight and also an audience highlight would have to be the one two punch of Letter Home and Heartbeat. The latter being one of those songs that gets into your head and never leaves. In the best way possible. You See Me, Bonfire and Sunrise rounded out the rest of the set before his encore.

Everyone left the stage and CG returned by himself. Rack City was next, backed by the LED screen.Then he broke into a 5 minute freestyle and he was joined on stage by another rapper to help him out with this. Make Me Mad was next and finally, Lights Turned On. During the last song which is high energy already, he kicked it into an even higher gear. Lights flashing, him running and jumping everywhere, 2500 people with hands up soaking it all in. What a way to end the night.

In his music CG often bounces back and forth between knock out punches and insecurity. Live though, there is no missteps. There is no hesitation. It is clear he is a comfortable, and frankly, pretty great performer. It is hard to believe when you watch him that rapping/singing isn’t his main job. Somehow he finds time to do it all, and he does it all well. His lyrics are clever and full of double entendre. Sometimes he will spit a line and you will realize exactly what he said 30 seconds later and he is so far past that then. It’s pretty great. His band sounds tight and carry him along perfectly. He moves around with a little swagger, but in the next second he will sing a beautiful melody. He is comfortable with who he is and doesn’t seem to be trying to be anything but that; himself.

One of my favorite shows so far this year. My only compliant was that it felt like it went by fast. His set list was 20 songs deep but we all wanted more when he left. I spent a little time hanging out with him afterwards and he was engaging and funny in person. I know too that he has a few shows in the NYC/Philly area this summer, and I will be at all of them. And if you are reading this you should be there as well.

All photos courtesy of Keeyahtay Lewis of DeadBoltPhotos.com


07 May
2012

Death Cab For Cutie 5/4 ACL Live at the Moody Theater Austin Photos

By The Audio Perv , Tags :


Just as Death Cab For Cutie was about to wrap up their sold-out spring tour, the band just announced the first set of dates of a summer tour. The band played ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin on Saturday night. Our photographer Phil DeSimone was there to get some cool photos of the band.

Check them out below along with the band’s newly announced tour dates.

JUNE
30 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON The Commons (w/The Tragically Hip)

JULY
1 Barrie, ON Burl’s Creek (w/The Tragically Hip)
3 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Pavilion
4 Rochester Hills, MI Meadow Brook
5 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
7 Des Moines, IA 80/35 Music Festival
8 Lawrence, KS Liberty Music Hall
9 Springfield, MO Gilloz Theatre
10 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom
12 Chicago, IL “The Taste of Chicago”
13 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
14 Charlottesville, VA nTelos Wireless Pavilion
15 Cincinnati, OH Bunbury Music Festival
17 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
19 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theatre
20 Holyoke, MA Mountain Park
21 Cooperstown, NY Ommegang Brewery
22 Dover, DE Firefly Music Festival

07 May
2012

Rammstein 4/26 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia Review/Photos

By The Audio Perv , Tags :


By Keeyahtay Lewis

On April 26th Rammstein came to Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia on their current US tour. I asked to cover this event after hearing from so many people how incredible their live show is. I went into it knowing almost nothing about the band beyond Du Hast and the fact that they are German. As soon as people found out I would be covering it though, all I kept hearing was about how jealous a lot of my friends were and there would be fire. Lots and lots of fire.

I got the arena and all of the press was held downstairs until the 9 o’clock start time, then we were led upstairs. Normally, when shooting concerts a photographer gets the first three songs to get your shots. We were told that we would be getting songs, 3, 4 and 5 for this show. When I asked why we were told it was because the fire was too intense for us to shoot. To be honest, this made me excited and also a little bummed I wouldn’t be able to shoot that part of the show. They brought us backstage and to the side a bit for the first couple of songs. My view was obscured but I was able to see a bit, and what I saw intrigued me greatly.

Again, my view wasn’t the best from where we were standing but I could see a huge bridge that was lowered and connected to the stage. Then I could see the band coming down the isles led by lit torches. What can only be described as cult music played over the speakers while they marched down to the bridge. As they got closer I could see that some of the band members had robes on with hoods drawn over their heads. They marched slowly across the bridge and then lit two huge fires on the stage as the bridge went up. Then all hell broke loose.

I will say right now I have no idea what any of their songs are about, I do not speak German. I would bet too that the crowd also doesn’t speak German, but thousands of voices sang and chanted with the band while the flames rose. Even from where I was standing I could feel the heat of the fire, it was no wonder they wouldn’t let us shoot this. (For the record though, the shots would have been incredible and worth the risk.) The explosions were aplenty, the energy was super high, and I just wanted to get out there to see the show. At one point I could see the guitar player and he had something around his neck that was shooting out rockets into the crowd. Effing insane.

Eventually we came out to shoot the show and I was impressed visually right away with how everything looked. The set up was intense. The background looked almost like an industrial set up: huge fans, circular lights suspended from the ceiling. Colored smoke and on occasion, more fire. At one point the guitar players microphone stand was completely engulfed in flames. Led by singer Till Lindemann, Rammstein pounded through every song. Their music was intense with a driving beat that you could feel going through your whole body. It didn’t matter than no one knew what they were saying, everyone just let themselves get lost in the music.

The band sounded tight and polished. Richard Zruspe and Paul Landers on guitar and vocals. Ollie Riedel on Bass. Christoph Schneider on the drums, and in the background wearing what looked like a bedazzled body suit, Christian Lorenz on keyboards and samples. At one point it looked like Lorenz was on a treadmill as he marched in time on stage. This was shaping up to be the weirdest, and probably coolest thing I have ever seen. The movements of the band could only be described as robotic at times. Jerky motions were common, especially from Lindemann. But just when you thought there might be a lull, something would explode.

Again, I have no idea what songs they played. It was impossible to not be mesmerized by the band, though. They played a pretty long set followed by two encores, and of course lots of fire and smoke.The background continually changed colors, and at times, shapes (or so it seemed). It was absolutely one of the most elaborate and entertaining live shows I have been to in a long time. They didn’t talk much at all beyond a “Thank you” at the end. It didn’t matter though. No one in the building was let down by what we had seen. I am sure it won’t be the last Rammstein show I go to.

All photos courtesy of Keeyahtay Lewis of DeadBoltPhotos.com


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