Iggy & the Stooges @ the United Palace - 4.9.07

Iggy.
The Stooges.
Together.
Is there anything better?

They played the United Palace, a formerly vaudevillian showplace, turned church, and now host to the occasional raucous rock show. Did they really know what they were getting themselves into when they booked this crowd? But here's the thing. Although the show might've looked scary to an outsider, it was far from that, if you were actually there. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the audiences for Iggy Pop shows have been the most well-behaved, polite crowds I've ever encountered. Usually made up of a whole lot of young kids and a whole lot of not-so-young-anymore grown up kids (think late 40s-50s), the blend somehow works well. And even though there usually aren't a lot of women in the crowd, again, I've never felt uncomfortable in the least. This show was no different.

I got there a bit later than I'd wanted to with Iggy already on stage. It was quite a trek uptown, but contrary to my own concert buddy for the evening and some other folk's opinions, I'd certainly be back. It's an amazing venue - architecturally schizophrenic and pretty damn cool. We had not so great orchestra seats, not that we ever sat on them. Since the show had already started by the time we arrived, someone else had moved forward and taken our seats. Or at least that's what we guessed, since we couldn't even get close to them, due to the overwhelming amount of people crowding the aisles. So what are two fans to do? We moved up too. We ended up standing on the right side of the stage - about 10th row or so. We were close enough to not miss any of the action, but not close enough that we'd get bopped on the head by a mosher's leg.


I love this photo. I believe this was during I Wanna Be Your Dog when Iggy exalted the crowd to get on stage...which they very quickly did. They all get so excited that for a while Iggy is thoroughly engulfed by them. Let's play Where's Iggy shall we?

And then this one...
By this point, the whole audience was up - orchestra, balcony, everywhere - and some leaning dangerously over the balcony. But still, everything went off without a hitch. Maybe one or two fans got overzealous while on stage and had to be escorted out. But that's really nothing in a show like this. Iggy and the Stooges came on and gave us a performance that would make any current 20-something pop punk posers envious.


P.S. I did have more close-up photos of Iggy. But they all turned out dreadful. Mostly due to the fact that no mere camera (at least not mine) could manage to capture his kinetic energy for posterity. They all came out as big blurs. So if anyone wants a bunch of skinny blurs, shoot me off an email and I'll be glad to send them your way ;o)

Art Brut @ the Bowery - 4.17.07

I was checking my mac and found these. So although I wasn't able to get any pics of Eddie Argos and co. from their recent Highline Ballroom show, I do have these to share from back in April. Show was just as good then - they're just a really fun band to watch. Plus for some reason, their demographic tends to be boys on the shortish side. So...
Seeing Art Brut - $20 plus tixbastard fees up the wazoo.
Holland tunnel tolls paid to get to the show - $6.
Not having to stare at the back of some huge guy during the whole show - priceless :o)




02.10.08 Update: Can't beat Eddie singing about moving to L.A.

Bjork @ Radio City Music Hall - 5.2.07

I had crap tixs to see Bjork back in May, but was happy to have them regardless. I've been following her career on and off since the Sugarcubes and knew that I had to finally see her, even if my seat was in the rafters. It wasn't quite that bad, but close ;o)

I ended up missing about 3 verses of the first song due to a parking spot mishap, but we quickly managed to make our way to our second balcony seats. Pretty good too. That's the great thing about Radio City - b/c of its' architecture, any seat turns out to be quite decent.

Bjork was on from moment one - a teeny orange ball of spunk flitting about Radio City's huge stage. I'd wondered about that - whether one tiny Icelandic sprite would be able to fill up that stage. Yeah, I shouldn't have worried. That voice was made for large stages and she brought enough props with her to keep us all visually entertained. Heck, even her dress was entertaining - I spent some time trying to figure out how it had been put together (my photos don't do it justice).


She sang some of our favorites - Army of Me being a particular standout - but she really blew me over with some of the new material. An amazing techno/punk call bravado - Declare Independence - had me jumping in my seat.


And then the best part for me of the whole night - she brings out Antony from Antony and the Johnsons - and they duet on a couple of new songs, most notably - The Dull Flame of Desire - which has become one of my favorite new songs - so damn beautiful. According to Bjork.com, the lyrics were taken from a translation of a poem by Fyodor Tyutchev (1803-1873).

I love your eyes, my dear
their splendid, sparkling fire
when suddenly you raise them so
to cast a swift embracing glance

like lightning flashing in the sky
but there's a charm that is greater still:
when my love's eyes are lowered
when all is fired by passions kiss

and through the downcast lashes
I see the dull flame of desire
and through the downcast lashes
I see the dull flame of desire

Bjork never disappointed - she was all and more than I ever expected. She brought beautiful imagery, kooky outfits, fancy-shmancy lighting, and best of all, an ethereal voice like no other.

02.10.08 Update: And here's a crappy video interspersed with huge bobbing heads. Enjoy.

The Arcade Fire @ Radio City Music Hall - 5.9.07

Ah, Arcade Fire - the critical darling band that's actually worth all the hype. I'd seen them twice before, once at Central Park Summerstage (with the special appearance of Mr. David Bowie) and at a Fashion Rocks show at Radio City - where Bowie showed up as well...I think he might like them ;o)
But this time my friend and I somehow snagged 6th row orchestra at Radio City, which was amazing. Best seated tixs I've ever had.
The opener was The National, which has been lauded everywhere. Uh, sorry but I don't quite get all of the hoopla. I hate to judge them from this appearance, but to me they'll just be the band that practically made my ears bleed. The bass was turned to 11 and since we were close to the stage, we spent a very uncomfortable 45 minutes or so squirming in our seats. Everyone else around us seemed fine though, so what do i know?
But onwards to the main attraction - the lovely Canadiennes of Arcade Fire. I can't remember a setlist, but I do remember having a great time. One will never mistake one of their shows for anyone else's. They're amazingly unique. I've never actually checked, but it seems as if each member knows how to play everyone else's instruments. Or at least it looks that way when they suddenly exchange them mid-song. Damn virtuosos.

And the passion in those voices...
There are a few, can count them in one hand, bands that make you feel like you're in church when you see them. The first one for me is U2, and now coming a very close second is Arcade Fire. It all feels so intimate, yet part of something greater...and if you know me personally, you know i don't mean this lightly.


There's never a moment when it feels as if the band is just going through the motions - they seem to be intuitively connected to each other and to every song at every moment. A friend of mine has described them as, 'Imagine if the special bus kids all got instruments'. Just a kind of eccentricity and talent and creativity and joie de vivre all mixed up in one place.


They're innate anarchists and caused quite a problem during their set. There was a lot of security around - trying to secure fire exits and such - and people had been told they could not stand in the aisles. And then Win and co. start telling everyone they should come on up as close as possible. Cue to a Three Stooges/Abott and Costello gag - crowd moves up, crowd gets kicked out by security, band tells crowd to come back, and then it starts all over again.
I'll say this for an Arcade Fire crowd - everyone was very agreeable - that back and forth crap could've turned scary with a different sort of people. In the end, Win apologized for the mess and the guards relaxed a bit as well.


It was once again an amazing experience not to be missed, b/c again, how often do you get to see the special kids rock out? :o)

The Stills @ Maxwell's - 6.26.07

This time I only managed a couple of pics. If you kind reader, have never been to Maxwell's, just know one thing, it is tiny. Like, high school friend's parents' basement tiny. The band has to go through the crowd in order to get on stage and instead of going off backstage ('cause there isn't any) to rest momentarily before coming back for an encore, they just huddled on stage for a bit - quite funny actually. This wasn't that long ago so I should remember a bit more...let's see.
I'd been wanting to see this band for ages, ever since I picked up their first album. I'd actually gotten tixs to two of their gigs before, but either b/c of illness or some other unexpected circumstance, I somehow always ended up missing out. It looked like the same was going to happen. I'd gotten 2 tixs and was going to originally take a certain someone. Well, that wasn't meant to be and I was left holding an extra tix and no idea of whom to take along. Thankfully a friend was gracious enough to escort me and I broke my no-show streak with the Stills.


I enjoyed myself - they were pretty much what I expected. Played my favorites, which is pretty much all of Logic Will Break Your Heart, some of which are just heart-breaking. I thought they had a good stage presence and the crowd - apart from an over-zealous, arm-flinging girl next to me - was pretty good. Plus it's always cool to go to a really small show once in a while and be within spitting distance of the band...again, not that i do that, it's just a cool thing ;o)

Manu Chao @ Prospect Park, Brooklyn - 6.26.07

So, I have all of these photos that I've been taking at shows and they're just gathering virtual dust in my overloaded mac. I can't post a true account of these shows since it's now been a while and i don't feel my memory would serve them well. But I can share some photos. Here are some for the amazing Manu Chao, a polyglot 8th wonder of the world, bringing joy and fun to everywhere he plays with his energetic band.

Gogol Bordello @ Irving Plaza - 7.20.07

Ok, where to even begin?
I had been super excited to see Gogol Bordello again. Ever since I saw them for the first time last year, I'd been spreading their gospel to any and all who'd listen. Some listened and decided it wasn't their thing, but most just fell for them heads over heels.
How could one not? Their music is loud and brash and clever and Eugene Hutz is one of the most charismatic crazy men in all of music.

The crowd at Irving Plaza was nuts as always, with lots of crowd surfing starting almost as soon as the band came on stage. But I didn't see any incidents or any problems. As DJ Scratchy mentioned before GB started, they'd done a show in Cleveland (I think) the day before and they'd had a mosh pit then. And it was the only time he'd ever heard people crashing against each other and saying excuse me. I was a bit far back seeing as I'm small and didn't particularly want to get squashed. Plus I was with some friends, one of which was not an habitual rock show attendee, who definitely didn't want to be upfront. Happy to be there and enjoy it all, but from the comfort of the back wall.

I did try and keep track at first of the set list, but honestly after a while i couldn't be bothered. It's hard to write in the dark and I was just having too much fun to stop and jot things down anyway. So I can say that they played a whole lot of favorites like Immigrant Punk, Sally, Think Locally, Fuck Globally, Santa Marinella, Not a Crime, and of course Start Wearing Purple, as well as new ditties like Forces of Victory, Harem in Tuscany, Zina-Marina, and Super Taranta! But I couldn't tell you in which particular order.
And since as the cliche goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, how's about some?



At this point, Eugene starts to really go mental and jumps into the audience, which has been crowd surfing and moshing all along. And somehow he's held up by them as he continues to sing, as seen here:


Just when it seems like Eugene is soon to pass out from exhaustion, he brings up yet another reserve of energy and keeps on going like an energizer bunny come to life...if the energizer bunny was tall, svelte, mustachioed and mad ;o)


At this point, sensing that running around on stage and into the audience is not quite enough, Eugene takes off, jumps unto the curved wall platform to the left of the stage, and then proceeds to jump up into the left balcony,


I couldn't see everything that was going on since it was on the same side (to the back) where I was standing. But from the reaction of some of the folk around Eugene, it seems he proceeded to vigorously snog some unsuspecting lucky girl :o) And then just hung out up there for a bit, as one would after some exhausting jumping and snogging.


The rest of the band was just as amazing as Eugene. He does take the lead obviously, but they all really get into it, particularly one of the girls. She'd actually done this same thing last time I saw them, but really it's still just as cool. She set up her drum on top of the crowd and then stood up on it, and played it (!) while standing on it.

It certainly manages to impress me every time :o)
They then played what we thought was the last song (during the encore), but DJ Scratchy comes on stage (at which point a third of the crowd have left thinking it's over) and asks if we want one more song. And they all come back! They definitely didn't seem to want to leave, which was great to see. The band was certainly having as great a time as were we all.
I was only sorry I'd only gone ahead and bought tixs for this one show - they had a second one the next night. Next time I'll know better and buy a tix for each show they do in NYC. Because there's really nothing like going to a Gogol Bordello show. It's something that should be experienced by everyone at least once.

And so to wrap things up, as I'd first posted: Fucking Amazing! :o)

P.S. I do have one question to anyone who might've gone to the show. Any idea why a kid in the back was dressed like a unicorn? He looked great and made my day - why not dress up like a unicorn to go see a gypsy punk band? - but i wondered about it all night.

2.10.08 Update - Yet another clip I found in my library. Please to enjoy Eugene and Co.

The States @ The Annex - 7.17.07

Although I love to hear about new bands, I never really seem to catch them on the way up. Even though none of my friends ever know any of the latest bands I've fallen for, they're usually pretty well known in the press (at least the UK one) by the time I get a chance to see them. But this time it was different. One of my friends told me about The States, a local band. Or rather, she made me a copy of their advanced cd. Which was great, since as even she admitted, I'm the one that usually introduces her to bands. Always great to have things reversed.

I enjoyed their album from day one. It's pretty much been on heavy rotation on my ipod ever since. So when she told me they'd be playing a local gig, I jumped at the chance to go see them. That particular one didn't work out, but they eventually managed to reschedule and the show went on last Tuesday.

I'd never been to the Annex before. Nice place, a bit oddly shaped, with the sound booth seemingly taking up half of the floor space, but still pretty cool. And they had a roomy balcony which was a pleasant surprise. Which is where we absconded to before the show began.
They started a little after 9 pm and opened with my favorite, Charm Offensive. At least I think that's what it was. I'm always lousy at remembering song titles. It was just as good as on the cd - really kicking guitar and great beat. And then they started having technical problems. The lead singer/guitarist's guitar refused to play. We were then treated to some excellent bass riffs while they tried to figure out what was wrong. The bassist was so into it, that I kidded he'd sabotaged the guitarist in order to get some solo time ;o) He was quite good though, so no harm done.

They eventually start playing again, but then it turned into a half-hearted episode of Top of the Pops, as in the guitar wasn't actually making any sound. Order was soon restored though and they continued to play ever better. And to an adoring crowd. At one point, a girl behind us yelled out, 'I want to have your babies'. I think that's a pretty good sign the band is going places.

http://www.myspace.com/thestatesonline

Travis @ Irving Plaza -7.14.07

Ok, first I think I have to address the fact that I couldn't give these tixs away. In a temporary state of insanity, I decided to buy two tixs instead of just the one. And then as the concert date approached, I realized I didn't have a plus one to come along. I then proceeded to pretty much contact everyone within the tri-state area - you know who you are ;o) - and in the end went by myself. The show was sold out, so I thought I'd a. sell it at the door, or b. just hand it to some kid waiting around outside. But by the time I made it back to the city, there weren't really any hangers on anymore, so I just ate the extra tix and went in by myself. And no offense to anyone I invited (which of course is everyone i know), but I had the best time on my own.

I'd been excited to see this show ever since I heard Travis was going to be coming to NYC. Last time they came to town, I saw them at Town Hall, so the prospect of seeing them in such a small place as Irving Plaza (I still can't get used to calling it by its' new moniker - The Fillmore at Irving Plaza - what pretentious crap), filled this girl with glee.
Once upon a time, I adored this band. They were one of the first bands I saw at a smallish club...well, as small as Roseland is. But my previous exposure to live music had been MSG and the Garden State Arts Center (which now goes by the so much lovelier name of PNC Bank Arts Center - sigh), so seeing Travis at Roseland was this transforming experience. I too could actually look into the pupils of singers I liked and stand within spitting distance of them (not that I spit - yuck).
But back to saturday...

They were on from the first moment, coming onto the stage through the crowd to the tune of the Rocky theme. I'd actually read about that earlier in the day, so it wasn't a complete surprise. As soon as the music started, I immediately started to scan the audience to try and figure out where the boys were coming from. The only problem being that I'm 5'3" and the boys aren't particularly tall either (well, except for one), so I was left to interpret the vigorous waving and snapping of digital cameras as proof that they were indeed making it to the stage. It was a nice touch, pardon the pun, to get to the stage by making their way through the throngs of reaching hands and happy faces.

I'd just bought the new album relatively recently, putting it off until I could find a decent sale. And then finally succumbed to the over-inflated Virgin prices just last week. I'd barely taken a decent listen. A lot of other music had come out within the last couple of weeks and the Scottish boys just seemed to fall to the side. That all changed as they played their first note and started Selfish Jean, which is I think, their current single. Great song - catchy from note one.
They then proceeded to do a pretty lovely mix of new stuff - really excellent - with older material. At this point I have to mention the crowd. I can't remember the last time I was privileged enough to be part of such a group. Well behaved, truly appreciative and damn loud. Frannie kept on mentioning how amazed he was by our reaction. Everyone was singing along to pretty much every song, and here's the crazy part, it was really cool. Not annoying, how it can usually be, when you have some drunk asshole making up lyrics off key into your ear. It's like we'd all gone out and gotten singing lessons. Truly lovely. I couldn't believe that I had no crowd issues the whole time. And in the spirit of fair play, i.e. i certainly can go on about the bastards that usually frequent shows, I'll mention the really sweet girl who went out of her way to pick up my dropped tix during the middle of the show. Just a piece of paper falling on the floor, no big deal, and this girl just bends over in the middle of a really crowded show to pick it up for me. It sounds banal enough, but it's really unusual enough to merit mention. Maybe it's b/c Travis is not on any hit list or hip blogs. They don't make the news for their dastardly behavior and just put out wonderful melodic music which is then co-opted by others and makes millions - that's right, i'm talking about you Chris Martin! ;o)

So the people there were just fans. Not poseurs, or hipsters, or wannabes, just pure fans who'd really missed seeing Travis - they hadn't been in NYC for at least 3 years - and wanted to have a great time.
Onwards to some highlights: Frannie introduces My Eyes (a new song), by talking about how it was inspired by the birth of his first child and then promptly forgets the lyrics a few verses into it, and apologetically makes everyone start over.

Andy jumping into the audience during All I Want to Do Is Rock.

The boys all coming to the front of the stage and performing Flowers in the Window acoustically.
During the encore, they decided to play Selfish Jean again (which is a bit unusual). The last time I was at a show in which that happened was when I saw Dido back in the day. And she repeated her then hit single at the end...b/c she didn't have enough songs. Seeing as Travis as quite enough material, this seemed like an odd move, until they bring out the surprise guest. Now, I wasn't actually familiar with the current video for Selfish Jean that has been making the round at youtube, or as Fran put it, it certainly hasn't been on mtv, that's for sure.
Demetri Martin was in the house, and proceeded to re-enact the video, much to everyone's delight.

But there was still more fun to come. Fran requested that we all pogo stick during one of the verses for Why Does It Always Rain On Me? And hey, for those who know me, you don't have to tell me twice :o)
Looking around and seeing the entire sold out crowd at Irving Plaza just go pogo-stick spastic was just, it's sentimental but i'll say it, beautiful moment.
The band seemed to really enjoy themselves and were truly appreciative of all the love flowing to them. They mentioned they'd be coming back soon, and I'll certainly be there, but I don't know if any upcoming show will be able to better saturday night's. Not too often one can say something was perfect, but to this sometimes jaded live music fan, that was pretty close to it.






















SET LIST:
SELFISH JEAN/EYES WIDE OPEN/
WRITING TO REACH YOU/
LOVE WILL COME THROUGH/
AS YOU ARE/MY EYES/
BIG CHAIR/SIDE/DRIFTWOOD/
GOOD FEELING/
CLOSER/SING/BATTLESHIPS/
ALL I WANT TO DO IS ROCK/TURN

ENCORE: FLOWERS IN THE WINDOW/INDEFINITELY/
SELFISH JEAN/WHY DOES IT ALWAYS RAIN ON ME?

p.s. during the pogo-sticking finale, i happened to look up into the balcony v.i.p. area and spotted a very enthusiastic (and cute) Zach Braff just rocking out like mad. just thought it was sweet :o)


2.10.08 Update: Not one, not two, but three Travis mini-films. I actually took a few more, but I think these are the best :o)

Art Brut @ Highline Ballroom - 7.9.07

My friend and I got to the show a bit late, which seems to have become a habit, but I actually don't think we missed more than a few songs. The venue is amazing. This was my first time at the Highline Ballroom and it did not disappoint. Sightlines as good as the Bowery, but an even smaller club, yet wider. Killer lighting, the whole works...well, except for the sound, which i guess was a bit of a problem. It didn't happen constantly but Eddie Argos was hard to understand a couple of times...and no, it wasn't b/c of the accent. As for the show itself, it was as always dead on. They always seem to be having the best time, which is incredibly refreshing for a rock band. I guess I've just seen one too many sourpusses in my time, looking miserable while performing to sold out crowds, so seeing Eddie and the gang really get into it totally warms the cockles of this music fan.

They played a good mix of the newly released songs, like this great bit:

I'm taking it slowly

I've been reading the signs

I found my hand in a place

Where I can't tell if she minds

Rolling around amongst our clothes on the floor

I can't help it:

"Have you heard this song before?"

I know I shouldn't

Is it so wrong

To break from your kiss

To turn up a pop song

How can you not love a song about being distracted by pop songs while making out?

Or this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgcDaYqOaGI

Once they left the stage for their encore, the crowd started yelling out "Art Brut, Top of the Pops", which for the uninitiated, is a refrain/band's wish from a ditty on their first album. So ingrained has this song become in my psyche, that when I heard about TotP going off the air, Art Brut is the first thing that came to my head. 'Oh no' thought I, 'now they'll never be able to be on Top of the Pops.' That's how crazy catchy their music is. It's silly, funny, and just plain fun. While doing a medley of songs, during which they do the Top of the Pops bit, Eddie starts calling out where that song had hit number 1 - Estonia, Brazil, Jamaica, former Yugoslavia, Disneyland, Disneyworld, and progressively sillier and sillier. But it's not just Eddie that makes up the band, although he is quite the showman. I have to also point out Jasper Future, one of the guitarists. He seems to have walked out of a 70's Bowie session and to my mind, could fill in for one of the excellent Hives, if one of them should ever have some sort of odd sledding injury. He has that kind of smart-aleckiness that I so love and treasure in the Hives' Nicholaus Arson.

On a side note, I'm sure I would've gotten excellent photos, since the lighting was so good, except, oh, I left my camera on during the ride over and so had no battery left. I attempted to take a photo with my cell phone but the results of that were too pitiful to post.

The crowd was decent enough, although for a while I was wishing bloody murder on the magpie couple in front of me who proceeded to canoodle without actually making contact, throughout the entire show. I think the show was just an elaborate set music piece background to their enchanting banter/flirtation. Grrr. Look, it's obviously ok that you go to a show on a date (although a bit stupid, since you can't really, or shouldn't, talk while the band is on), but don't ruin it for everyone else behind you, i.e. poor little me who had nowhere else to go. But I digress...

End result: Band was in top form as always - this was the third time I've seen them and they haven't disappointed yet. I had a great time jumping around a bit and yelling out obnoxious lyrics. And I hope they can come back soon so I can do it all over again. But next time I'll definitely show up earlier so as not to miss any of the fun.