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Posts Tagged ‘Bowery Ballroom’
21 Jan
2011

Fitz and the Tantrums Own NYC at Bowery Ballroom (1/19)

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

By Scott Silver

Fitz and the Tantrums returned to the New York City area Wednesday night for their biggest area show to date. The Silverlake, California band are on a winter national headlining club tour. The modern funk/soul rock group is one of the few bands that sweats and dances as much as their fans during the entire set. In fact, frontman Fitz’s relentless dancing resulted in him splitting the back of the pants of his new suit.

What makes Fitz and the Tantrums so unique is that they’ve innovated soul and jazz music into something more mainstream that today’s younger music fans can enjoy. The electric connection between frontman Michael Fitzpatrick and singer Noelle Scaggs is sexy and cute at the same time. They clapped and danced with the audience for the entire set. Fitz and the Tantrums’ music isn’t all upbeat, however. Before launching into the somber “Tighter”, Fitz vaguely spoke of his past and regret. The solemn look on his face seemed to linger slightly longer than the end of the song.

All was right though once the band launched back into their empowering funk material like “L.O.V.” and “News 4 U”, the former of which ended with Fitz softly collapsing with Noelle looking down on him (check out the photos below).

The band treated the crowd to two new songs “Wake Up” and “6 AM”. Both songs easily could have been tracks on the band’s current album Picking Up The Pieces.

Before closing their initial set, the band covered the Eurythmics’s “Sweet Dreams” aided by a crowd that was all too happy to sing “Movin’ on!” and a nice long solo by saxophonist James King.

The band’s encore included “Saturday’s Child” (not included on the band’s set list), “We Don’t Need Love Songs” and the band’s biggest hit “Moneygrabber”. For 15 dollars, you couldn’t have a better night in New York City. Next time, be prepared to pay more and watch Fitz in the Tantrums in a much much larger venue (that’ll also be sold out again).

“Sweet Dreams”

“Breakin’ The Chains of Love”

“6AM”

16 Dec
2010

Tonight: Fran Healy 12/16 Bowery Ballroom

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

Not many artists can survive on their own away from their already established bands. For Fran Healy, not only has he survived but he’s been successful. The frontman for the Scottish band Travis, Fran is currently on tour supporting his solo album Wreckorder. If you liked Travis and have an open mind, you’ll love watching Fran Healy tonight at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Fran tweeted a rehearsal video for tonight’s show at his website www.franhealy.com where you can also get a free download of the song “Holiday”.

Fran Healy
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002
Thursday December 16
18+
Doors: 8:00 PM / Show: 8:30 PM
$30

www.franhealy.com
www.facebook.com/franhealyofficial

22 Jul
2010

Tonight: Steel Train 7/22 Bowery Ballroom NYC

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

Steel Train‘s one of those bands that your friends have been telling you to check out. You know, those friends who claim to be in the know, who are “close friends with A&R”, read music blogs. Then you heard that they were going on tour with Tegan & Sara. Then they played Coachella. Then they played Bamboozle. Then they were on Letterman. Who the heck are these guys? Are they indie? power pop? punk? emo? How about a mix of all of the above? Maybe The AV Club had it right when they compared the band to Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. The band’s touring now behind their recently released self-titled album. It’s excellent and we’re sure it’ll be on a lot of critics (and fans!) year end lists. There’s also an all-female companion covers album Terrible Thrills Vol.1 that features Scarlett Johansson, Tegan & Sara and more lending their voices to some of Steel Train’s best work. (Check out Scarlett covering “Bullet” here). Tonight, Steel Train makes the NYC stop of their headlining tour at the Bowery Ballroom. Go check them out. We’re not asking you to, we’re commanding you!

Download/stream the song “Turnpike Ghost” here

Steel Train (with Girl In A Coma and Yawn)
Thursday July 22, 2010 7PM
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002
16+
Doors 7PM, Show 8PM
www.boweryballroom.com

www.steeltrain.net
www.myspace.com/steeltrain
www.facebook.com/steeltrain
www.twitter.com/steeltrain

14 Jun
2010

Free Energy 5/29 NYC Bowery Ballroom Review

By drainu182 , Tags : ,

By Britnee Foreman

Free Energy is just another brick in the wall…

being highly accessible and building on the litany of commercial-ready rock pop that floods the airwaves. In short, it is super manufactured to fit the mold it is intended to fit.

I recently had the chance to see the Philly based band at the Bowery Ballroom, and while the performance was good, it was slightly underwhelming. I was promised by the preceding band “to have my face melted off“ by Free Energy, however at the end of the night, my face was still intact.

In between the sets of the opening band and Free Energy there was a palpable change in the audience. The crowd went from mostly teenaged kids that sing-along with every word and go from swaying to full-on dancing, to thirtysomethings desperately trying to maintain hip by seeing the newest “IT” band. That’s when I should’ve known.

When the band took the stage, on time– so kudos to them, it looked like United Colors of Hipsters, hipsters from every varying degree of hipsterdom. It’s a five member band so it was a wide spectrum. First there was the “Indie” guitarist, Scott Wells, hidden beneath his shaggy curls, with the feather between his guitar frets, looking oh so “Free Bird” down on stage right while the other guitarist, Geoff Bucknam, seemed to be channeling the late Jimi Hendrix on stage left. The drummer, Nick Shuminsky , while hard to see behind the riser, was rocking a full Tom Selleck moustache, and the bassist, Evan Wells, looked like it was Halloween and he was going as Luigi from Super Mario Bros, jumpsuit and all. Last but certainly not least is the lead singer, Mr. Paul Sprangers, the tall, lanky dude that marches in place with the songs and kind of flails his arms rhythmically. I’m not knocking their sartorial choices; I just want you to be able to visualize the aesthetic.

The set was tight and clean. Not a single off note. You can tell that this is a band that works hard on their craft and they deserve every bit of success they receive. Not only were they a well polished band but they had fun up on stage as well. There was bouncing around on the stage, traversing from side to side, an all around good time had by all. Their jams were catchy and ridiculously infectious. The vocals were slightly drowned out by the hazy sounds of the guitars, and the vibe turned out to be really mellow. Luigi was getting down in the corner like he was in a Robert Palmer video. Even the random tech dude that was standing behind Luigi the whole night was into it. Yeah, I saw you dude. Also, if you’re not toting an instrument or a microphone, stay off the stage, you’re distracting.

All in all it was a good show even if there is nothing really stand-out about the band sonically. If you go to a Free Energy show you will be entertained. It just might serve you better though if you already know all their songs and have a raging fan-girl/guy crush on the band.

09 Apr
2010

Bob Schneider 4/3 Bowery Ballroom NYC Review/Photos

By drainu182 , Tags : , ,

Review/Photos by Bridget Maher (Rockpit.com)
I decided to take my mother to a concert to show her that I have a real job. She picked Bob Schneider, and after only listening to her favorite song “40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet)” I was a bit apprehensive. But who says no to their mother? I put on my most mom appropriate outfit and hoped for the best.

Bob Schneider was joined with his band, all of whom are apparently the best [insert instrument here] player in all of Texas. Harmoni Kelly (bass) looked like she was ready for the church picnic, Billy Cassis (guitar) seemed like a fun guy and I was too short to see Jay Thomas (drums). They started the night with “Change Your Mind” off Bob’s newest album Lovely Creatures and continued on with “Till Somebody Catches a Feeling”, “Realness of Space” and “Gold in the Sunset”. Bob then played 8 more songs before he acknowledged the fact that he had an audience (who was really into him!).

His songs are a funky combination of Dave Matthews and John Mayer with a dash of calypso that make you want to go Salsa dancing. It sounds weird, I know. It’s one of those “you just have to be there” things. There is no arguing that he is an extremely talented musician. He seamlessly transitioned from song to song, but I found myself wishing for more audience interaction.

Then, something magical happened. Bob sang about hamburgers (and cheeseburgers and Caesar salads) – it’s a “song” called “Hard Rock Menu”. He finally cracked a smile, got a little goofy and started to enjoy himself. He continued to play songs from Lovely Creatures like “Slower Dear” and “Your Head Holds Gold, Your Heart Holds Diamonds” and mixed it up with some songs that I didn’t know. During Tarantula Bob pulled out a Lucha mask and wore it for the duration of the song. It was pretty sweet.

The coolest thing about the concert is that most of Bob’s performances are recorded live and available for sale. I thought it was just a New York City thing, but apparently it happens at almost all of his shows. He rocks for doing that, there was a huge line at the merch table after the show.

Bob turned the audience on (every single couple was making out around me) by his musical talents and then blew them away by his goofy sense of humor. The show ended on a high note with an encore consisting of “King of the World”, “40 Dogs (Romeo and Juilet)”, “Ready, Let’s Roll” and “Getting Better/Hell Yeah”. He left me thinking his wife was a lucky woman ‘cause man, that guy has a quick tongue.

(Click on pics to enlarge)

07 Apr
2010

Greg Laswell Releases ‘Take A Bow’ May 4th, Playing Bowery Ballroom May 25th

By drainu182 , Tags : ,
greglaswell
greglaswellalbumcover

Producer/songwriter Greg Laswell will be kicking off a month-long national tour for his May 4 Vanguard Records release, Take A Bow, with a performance at the Bowery Ballroom on May 25th at 7:30 PM. The album, Laswell’s third for Vanguard Records, both closes and opens another chapter in the California native’s trilogy about love, loss and rebirth.

Following his critically acclaimed fall 2009 Covers EP, which included Greg’s very personal interpretations of songs by Echo & the Bunnymen, Kristin Hersh, Mazzy Star, Morphine & Kate Bush and made Filter Magazine’s “10 best of the year), Take a Bow features 12 original compositions, including a new version of the song “Off I Go,” which was featured in the 2009 season finale of Grey’s Anatomy (one of over five placements he’s had on this show alone).

Laswell holed up in a rustic cabin near Flagstaff, AZ with just his dog for company to write, perform (he plays all the instruments) and engineer the songs that would become Take A Bow. Like fellow Californian Mark Oliver Everett (Eels), Laswell made his “band” the studio and the studio his laboratory – the results are lush without being slick, textured while still maintaining an organic feel – he’s as likely to use a “found” banjo as a sophisticated piece of recording gear. Grammy-winning producer and engineer Greg Collins (U2, Fiona Apple) mixed the album and tied the ingredients together perfectly – the songs have orchestral sweep and epic feel which provide a beautiful backdrop to Laswell’s resonant vocals and tasteful melody lines.

Since his 2006 debut release, Through Toledo, Laswell’s sonorous vocals and bleak lyrics, coupled with his engaging, bemused personality for his live appearances, have won him a devoted fanbase and comparisons to songwriters such as Jeff Buckley, Ron Sexsmith and Thom Yorke. Whether performing solo at the piano or with a full band, Laswell is a performer who always gets it right.

www.greglaswell.com

Tuesday May 25, 2010

7:30 PM BUY TICKETS

Bowery Ballroom

6 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002-2804
(212) 533-2111

www.boweryballroom.com

Ticket Price: $13.00

14 Mar
2010

AM Taxi Bowery Ballroom NYC 3/8 Review/Pics

By drainu182 , Tags : , , , ,

AM Taxi‘s a rock band out of Chicago who recently signed with EMI/Virgin. With their major label debut due out June 8th, the band’s been on tour with Company Of Thieves. This past Monday, the tour came through New York City for a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom. AM Taxi‘s an interesting band because they sound like an amalgam of alternative, pop, and punk. Frontman Adam Krier has a raspy voice that definitely will draw comparisons to Gaslight Anthem‘s Brian Fallon (which will either make you a fan of the band or completely turn you off). Krier sings about nostalgia about being young although it’s difficult to appreciate given how young Krier is/looks. Regardless, AM Taxi‘s live performance is not to be missed. These five guys are energetic from note to note whether covering the Rolling Stones‘s “Paint It Black” or jamming out on their own potential hits like “The Mistake (Burning Hot Girls)”. Company Of Thieves’ lead singer Genevieve Schatz joined the band on “Maydays and Rosaries”, which she recorded with AM Taxi while the band was in the studio readying their upcoming album We Don’t Stand A Chance (due out June 8th on Virgin Records). Catch AM Taxi on tour now with Company Of Thieves and next with The Spill Canvas before embarking on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour. Tour dates are below the photos (courtesy of Meimi Yeung)

Setlist
1. Tanner Boyle Vs. The 7th Grade
2. Paper Covers Rock
3. Charissa
4. Fed Up
5. Reckless Ways
6. Dead Street
7. Shake, Rattle And Stall
8. Maydays and Rosaries (w/Company Of Thieves’ Genevieve Schatz)
9. Paint It Black (Rolling Stones cover)
10. The Mistake (Burning Hot Girls)

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Sun 03/14/10 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley

Tue 03/16/10 St. Louis, MO Cicero’s

Thu 03/18/10 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall

Fri 03/19/10 Indianapolis, IN E.S. Jungle

Appearing with The Spill Canvas
Wed 04/21/10 Cedar Falls, IA The Hub

Fri 04/23/10 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater

Sat 04/24/10 Murray, UT The Murray Theater

Sun 04/25/10 Boise, ID The Venue

Mon 04/26/10 Seattle, WA El Corazon

Tue 04/27/10 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre

Thu 04/29/10 San Francisco, CA Slim’s

Fri 04/30/10 West Hollywood, CA The Roxy Theatre

Sat 05/01/10 Orangevale, CA The Boardwalk

Mon 05/03/10 Tucson, AZ The Rock

Wed 05/05/10 Dallas, TX The Loft

Thu 05/06/10 Houston, TX Wired Live

Fri 05/07/10 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit

Sat 05/08/10 Austin, TX Emo’s

Mon 05/10/10 Saint Petersburg, FL The State Theatre

Tue 05/11/10 Orlando, FL The Social

Wed 05/12/10 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade

Fri 05/14/10 Towson, MD Recher Theatre

Sat 05/15/10 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony

Mon 05/17/10 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live

Tue 05/18/10 Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs

Thu 05/20/10 Columbus, OH The Basement

Fri 05/21/10 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall

Sat 05/22/10 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar

Sun 05/23/10 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club

Appearing at “Vans Warped Tour”
Fri 06/25/10 Carson, CA The Home Depot Center

Sat 06/26/10 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre

Sun 06/27/10 Ventura, CA Seaside Park

Tue 06/29/10 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion

Wed 06/30/10 Las Cruces, NM New Mexico St. Univ. Practice Field

Thu 07/01/10 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center

Fri 07/02/10 Houston, TX The Showgrounds @ Sam Houston Race Park

Sat 07/03/10 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center

Mon 07/05/10 Maryland Heights, MO Verizon Wireless Amph. St. Louis

Tue 07/06/10 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center

Wed 07/07/10 Burgettstown, PA First Niagara Pavilion

Thu 07/08/10 Cleveland, OH Time Warner Cable Amph. @ Tower City

Fri 07/09/10 Toronto, ON The Flats At Arrow Hall

Sat 07/10/10 Montreal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau

Sun 07/11/10 Hartford, CT Comcast Theatre

Tue 07/13/10 Mansfield, MA Comcast Center

Wed 07/14/10 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

Thu 07/15/10 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain

Fri 07/16/10 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center

Sat 07/17/10 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Sun 07/18/10 Oceanport, NJ Monmouth Park

Tue 07/20/10 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion

Wed 07/21/10 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater

Thu 07/22/10 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Fri 07/23/10 Saint Petersburg, FL Vinoy Waterfront Park

Sat 07/24/10 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre

Sun 07/25/10 Orlando, FL Firestone Live

Mon 07/26/10 Atlanta, GA Aaron’s Amphitheatre At Lakewood

Wed 07/28/10 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center

Thu 07/29/10 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheater

Fri 07/30/10 Detroit, MI Comerica Park

Sat 07/31/10 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

Sun 08/01/10 Shakopee, MN Canterbury Park

Mon 08/02/10 Bonner Springs, KS Capitol Federal Park At Sandstone

Thu 08/05/10 Edmonton, AB Northlands

Sat 08/07/10 Salt Lake City, UT Utah State Fairpark

Sun 08/08/10 Denver, CO Invesco Field At Mile High

Tue 08/10/10 Chula Vista, CA Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre

Wed 08/11/10 Carson, CA The Home Depot Center

Thu 08/12/10 Wheatland, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre

Fri 08/13/10 Nampa, ID Idaho Center Amphitheater

Sat 08/14/10 Quincy, WA Gorge Amphitheatre

Sun 08/15/10 Hillsboro, OR Washington County Fair Complex

19 Feb
2010

Mumford & Sons Bowery Ballroom 2/18

By drainu182 , Tags : , ,

It had been four months since the band was in town for CMJ but Mumford & Sons finally returned to their (second) home of New York City last night at the Bowery Ballroom. What’s changed since then? Frontman Marcus Mumford has shaved his mustache that had him being mistaken for old fashioned baseball players from the 1890s. Besides that, little else has changed as the band was amazing. Opening with the title track off of their newly released album Sigh No More, the band played a thirteen song set (and four of these songs featured one of the band members playing on drums. Take that David Letterman!). The only thing surprising about this group of Brits (who dress like they’re ready to enjoy a beer after work and get into a bar fight) is how witty they are or attempt to be. Marcus squeaked out “motherfuckaz” a few times and mentioned how the band “secretly we all want to be gangsters. Publicly, we know it’s not going to happen.” Even when the band tried to seem cocky, it seemed unnatural to them with Marcus remarking later “Our arrogance must seem pathetic to a country like yours.” Interestingly, it was on the songs “Lover of the Light” and “Dust Bowl Dance” where the band seemed most comfortable jamming out with Marcus stepping behind the band’s sparingly used drum set (Marcus usually plays a bass drum with kick pad in addition to playing acoustic guitar and singing).

Modest yet flattered and appreciative of the crowd’s love, keyboardist Ben Lovett remarked “Every time we come here, we make plans to live here”. Maybe they should as their plans to return to the area in May makes three months seem so far away.

Mumford & Sons on Letterman Video

www.myspace.com/mumfordandsons
www.mumfordandsons.com

Photos below the setlist courtesy of Meimi Yeung

1. Sigh No More
2. Awake My Soul
3. Little Lion Man (video)
4. White Blank Page
5. Lover of the Light
6. Timshel
7. Thistle & Weeds
8. Untitled Song
9. I Gave You All
10. The Cave
11. Roll Away Your Stone
12. Dust Bowl Dance

Encore
13. Whispers In The Dark

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18 Jan
2010

Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem) Bowery Ballroom 1/15 (Listen/Pics/Vids)

By drainu182 , Tags : , ,

Brian Fallon played a sold-out acoustic show at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (1/15). In what was essentially a “Storytellers” show, Brian opened the show covering the Christmas hymn “What You Gonna Call Your Pretty Little Baby” before going through a set mixed of songs from The Gaslight Anthem and covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Kelly Clarkson, Screaming Trees and much more. Despite some boos/light jabbing from friends from NJ requesting fast paced songs, Brian resisted in covering “Free Bird”, “Crazy Train” and other songs that Brian described that “you can hear down the street for 25 cents a song.” Besides that, it felt like one of those Dashboard Confessional songs where the crowd was singing as loud if not louder than the talent onstage. Brian also confirmed that The Gaslight Anthem’s upcoming album will be called American Slang (due out June 15th). Check out the setlist below (thanks to wayword1 on isohunt who recorded the whole show) along with some pics and videos (We lose shots of Brian a few times as people were walking in front of us to go to the bathroom/get drinks so don’t complain!).

Setlist:
1. What You Gonna Call Your Pretty Little Baby (Odetta)
2. Old White Lincoln
3. Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival )
4. Great Expectations
5. The ’59 Sound
6. Dollar Bill (Screaming Trees)
7. Miles Davis And The Cool
8. I Do Not Hook Up (Kelly Clarkson)
9. High Lonesome
10. Blue jeans & White T-Shirts
11. The Navesink Banks
12. Here’s Looking At You Kid
13. The Broad Majestic Shannon (The Pogues)
14. We Came To Dance
Encore : W/ Dave Hause
15. Call It Off (Tegan And Sara)
16. Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)
17. Long Ride Home (Patty Griffin)
18. Ball & Chain (Social Distortion)

Listen: “The ’59 Sound”
[mp3]/wp-content/mp3s/Brian Fallon – The 59 Sound.mp3[/mp3]

Listen: “I Do Not Hook Up” (Kelly Clarkson cover)
[mp3]/wp-content/mp3s/Brian Fallon – I Do Not Hook Up (Kelly Clarkson cover).mp3[/mp3]

Listen: “Great Expectations”
[mp3]/wp-content/mp3s/Brian Fallon – Great Expectations.mp3[/mp3]

(click on pics to enlarge)

“What You Gonna Call Your Pretty Little Baby”

“The ’59 Sound”

“Dollar Bill”

“The Navesink Banks”

“Have You Ever Seen The Rain”

31 Oct
2009

Lights Resolve Bowery Ballroom CMJ 10/20 Review/Photos

By drainu182 , Tags : , ,

Lights Resolve played the first night of CMJ at the Bowery Ballroom on 10/21. They were filling in for The Black And White Years from Austin (who couldn’t make the trip, sucks!). The lineup originally also had Hockey but you know how these CMJ shows change all the time. Anyways, despite being added on 12 hours before the show (we know this because we were reminded a few times by the band), Lights Resolve amazed the somewhat sparse crowd. Few up and coming bands can compare to Lights Resolve. Not only does this band have solid hooks and complete hit rock songs, but they also possess the “IT”/je ne sais quoi that bands need to reach the top. They also have a good image and great live show that may slightly emit a bit of cockiness but we didn’t mind. The total package, Lights Resolve is sure to be signed soon. Check out the photos below (thanks to Meimi Yeung!)

(click on the pics to enlarge)