The Revolution with Andre Cymone and Dez Dickerson. Also on hand was Bilal (to sing the upper register Prince songs, and he should sing "The Beautiful Ones" every single day), Apollonia, Questlove, and Maya Rudolph. Britt Daniel of Spoon was also in the building with Har Mar Superstar, but not on stage.
Lauryn Hill is a goddess. 16 band/backup singers/dancer and she played nearly everything. Solo hits, Fugees classics, Bob Marley covers, a devastating version of "Feeling Good", and she's a true band leader up there. None of the songs (with the slight exception of "Doo Wop") were done in their original time, and "To Zion" was slowed down to a torch song. Utterly amazing.
Lush last night at the 9:30 Club. Wow. A friend from out of town who's a huge Lush fan got the tickets. I was aware of them back in the day but never really got into the shoegaze stuff. Turned out I owned one Lush album, Split, which was an Amie Street download I'd never listened to. So I played it a few times, liked it a lot, but went into the show pretty cold. Now I'm going to have to go back and investigate the rest of the catalog. Amazing show.
On a related note, the 9:30 Club recently released an awesome coffee table book that's basically a history of the club, with photographs and recollections from bands, fans, promoters, etc. It's available on their website and well worth checking out. I was looking through it yesterday afternoon and stumbled upon a story about an early 90s show where Lush and Ride were co-headliners. The agents for both bands apparently sent threatening letters to all venues on the tour, directing that all ads and promotional materials were to feature both bands equally, with no suggestion regarding which band would be opening and closing the show. Failure to follow the instructions would result in cancellation of the show and forfeit of all prepaid deposits by the venue.
The owner of the 9:30 Club wrote back, and copies of both letters are in the book. He said to guarantee complete equality, both bands would appear on stage at the same time; whenever one guitarist started a solo, all guitarists on stage would be required to solo until the first guitarist finished; bathroom breaks would be coordinated so that every member of both bands went at the same time; and if any member of the audience was found to enjoy one band more than the other, the show would be cancelled immediately with no refunds. He closed with "looking forward to a completely anal and humorless show." Funny stuff.
I spent last night at Peaches. Someone I'd always intended to see for the spectacle, but it wasn't until I got on the house list this time that I actually did.
The spectacle was indeed over the top crazy. Tons of nudity and simulate sex acts. Still not sure what I think of it (shock for it's own sake isn't really my thing), but it was well worth experiencing.
Death at the Black Cat on Saturday night. If you haven't seen the documentary, A Band Called Death, it's excellent and well worth watching. One of the band's singles from the mid-70s will be on permanent display at the new African American History Museum in DC, which opened this weekend, so they were in town for the festivities. Fun show, very loud, earplugs are a good thing. The opening band was called Rough Francis, featuring three sons of Death's lead singer and bass player, Bobby Hackney. They were really good.
We had a great Saturday at the Hyde Park Jazz Fest. We saw many of the shows mentioned in the linked review: Willie Pickens (utterly fantastic), the 'Garden of Souls' Ornette tribute, part of Dee Alexander's scorched-earth set, and the Miguel Zenon commission piece pictured above. String quartet playing Puerto Rican folkloric rhythms took a little getting used to, but it all came together. He had them playing his lines, which was unforgettable to hear. Hopefully they will record it.
The whole festival is fantastic - the settings, the scale, the neighborhood crowd, even the food. Already looking forward to next year - May try to get a room down there so we can stick around for later-evening night stuff.
Got absolutely killed by traffic getting down there - Now I realize that was because of Chance's "Coloring Day". So it was a great day for music down on the South Side
Had my turn with Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds on Sunday. So good. Yes, his voice is completely trashed, but hearing the man who wrote "God Only Knows" perform it live was magic.
First time I saw him solo was around 1999 - I had goosebumps. Last time was a year or so ago (with Rodriguez opening). A few less goosebumps, but still awesome. Glad you got to see him.
Bad picture of great show by Steve Coleman and Five Elements last night. One of the freshest things I've heard all year, with simple repeated phrases building into gradually unfolding improvisations. Barely visible on the left is the vocalist (rapper, singer, poet or something) Kokayi, who I hadn't heard of before, but now I have: https://kokayi.bandcamp.com/album/pro-deo-et-patria
Saw Squeeze and the English Beat on Tuesday at the 9:30 Club, fun show. English Beat at this point is Dave Wakeling and a rotating cast of characters, but the songs hold up and they know how to play them. Squeeze was excellent. Glenn Tilbrook is a much better guitarist than I realized.
Teenage Fanclub tonight, also at the 9:30. Descendents tomorrow night. Then I need a break.
Elvis Costello & the Imposters at the Orpheum in Boston on October 25. That night was called Imperial Bedroom and Other Chambers, and for 2 1/2 hours we were amazed by how good he was. Yes, he played most of Imperial Bedroom as well as other songs from his vast repertoire. On the 2nd encore he played a couple of new tunes from something new he's working on - "A Face in the Crowd" - yes, THAT Face in the Crowd. My wife didn't care for the first tune (very Randy Newman-esque), but I dug it. Great concert. My son, who's 34, was one of the youngest people there.
I was at last night's EC show in Boston also - I only stayed for the 1st third of the show so I could say I've seen 33 1/3 Elvis shows (but then I went right back in!). Another fun set. Going for 45.
Just got back from an awe-inspiring and very different performance of The Nutcracker by the Modern Kiev Ballet at a big theater in downtown Kiev. A lot was changed: the whole story was dreamed by a poor beggar girl who dreams she is Clara and then freezes to death on the street at the very end; the uncle is creepy and hypnotizes the party guests; there is no nutcracker; the dance of the snowflakes is done in ungainly fashion by the mice wearing ill-fitting white tutus, and the mice do all the rest of the dances as various characters (including a hilarious Chinese Dance done by mice-as-sumo-wrestlers). It was by turns very funny and quite moving, and visually spectacular. This being Kyiv and the Nutcracker being Russian there may have been a political subtext.
Adrian Belew Power Trio last night in Vienna, Virginia. This was the first show of the tour, and there were a few hiccups but the musicianship was off the charts. Julie Slick on bass, Tobias Ralph on drums, and the incredible Adrian Belew (fresh off an Oscar win after doing the music for Piper, which won best animated short film) on guitar. He did some of his solo stuff, some King Crimson, and a Bowie song (Boys Keep Swinging). The band was really tight, even when it appeared Adrian was trying, always with a smile on his face, to trip them up.
I've said it before, nothing beats a great power trio. This is one of the best, see 'em if you get the chance.
Interesting night in a small industrial space outside of Boston last night. Audrey Ryan (with some amazing looping), Land of Enchantment, LuxDeluxe and Hallelujah the Hills (final get to see them live). Get home at 2AM only to see the clock jumping to 3AM! Cheers.
Haven't updated this thread in a while. Here's what I've seen lately.
Redd Kross (May 2, Black Cat) - so much fun. I've loved them for years but never seen them before. It's obvious that they love rock n roll as much as the fans do, and they happen to be really good at it but don't take themselves seriously at all. I feel like I had a big goofy grin on my face the whole time, particularly when they played the entire Teen Babes From Monsanto EP, including KISS, Bowie and Stones covers.
Midnight Oil (Fillmore Silver Spring, May 9) - another old favorite that I'd never seen before. They have always had a rep as a kick-ass live band, and it's well deserved. Sold-out and very enthusiastic crowd.
Pixies (Lincoln Theatre, May 16) - saw them 2-3 years ago when they started touring again, this show was better. No banter with the crowd, Frank never opened his mouth except to sing, but they were very tight and played everything I wanted to hear. And I had never been to the Lincoln Theatre before, it's owned by the same people who run the 9:30 Club, very cool venue.
Old 97's (Birchmere, June 15) - seen them a bunch of times and they never disappoint. New album is very good, the last one was even better - they keep adding to an incredible back catalog of songs. This was their first time playing the Birchmere, which happens to be five minutes from my house, so they get bonus points for that. There was an opening band, headliners played for 90+ minutes and I was still home by 10:15.
Comments
The Revolution with Andre Cymone and Dez Dickerson. Also on hand was Bilal (to sing the upper register Prince songs, and he should sing "The Beautiful Ones" every single day), Apollonia, Questlove, and Maya Rudolph. Britt Daniel of Spoon was also in the building with Har Mar Superstar, but not on stage.
A ton of fun and very cathartic.
Craig
Oh. My. God.
Lauryn Hill is a goddess. 16 band/backup singers/dancer and she played nearly everything. Solo hits, Fugees classics, Bob Marley covers, a devastating version of "Feeling Good", and she's a true band leader up there. None of the songs (with the slight exception of "Doo Wop") were done in their original time, and "To Zion" was slowed down to a torch song. Utterly amazing.
Craig
Explosions in the Sky
A really fun show.
Craig
Craig
On a related note, the 9:30 Club recently released an awesome coffee table book that's basically a history of the club, with photographs and recollections from bands, fans, promoters, etc. It's available on their website and well worth checking out. I was looking through it yesterday afternoon and stumbled upon a story about an early 90s show where Lush and Ride were co-headliners. The agents for both bands apparently sent threatening letters to all venues on the tour, directing that all ads and promotional materials were to feature both bands equally, with no suggestion regarding which band would be opening and closing the show. Failure to follow the instructions would result in cancellation of the show and forfeit of all prepaid deposits by the venue.
The owner of the 9:30 Club wrote back, and copies of both letters are in the book. He said to guarantee complete equality, both bands would appear on stage at the same time; whenever one guitarist started a solo, all guitarists on stage would be required to solo until the first guitarist finished; bathroom breaks would be coordinated so that every member of both bands went at the same time; and if any member of the audience was found to enjoy one band more than the other, the show would be cancelled immediately with no refunds. He closed with "looking forward to a completely anal and humorless show." Funny stuff.
The spectacle was indeed over the top crazy. Tons of nudity and simulate sex acts. Still not sure what I think of it (shock for it's own sake isn't really my thing), but it was well worth experiencing.
Craig
We had a great Saturday at the Hyde Park Jazz Fest. We saw many of the shows mentioned in the linked review: Willie Pickens (utterly fantastic), the 'Garden of Souls' Ornette tribute, part of Dee Alexander's scorched-earth set, and the Miguel Zenon commission piece pictured above. String quartet playing Puerto Rican folkloric rhythms took a little getting used to, but it all came together. He had them playing his lines, which was unforgettable to hear. Hopefully they will record it.
The whole festival is fantastic - the settings, the scale, the neighborhood crowd, even the food. Already looking forward to next year - May try to get a room down there so we can stick around for later-evening night stuff.
Got absolutely killed by traffic getting down there - Now I realize that was because of Chance's "Coloring Day". So it was a great day for music down on the South Side
9:30 Club sounds way cool!
Craig
Craig
Craig
Kanye.
Craig
Bad picture of great show by Steve Coleman and Five Elements last night. One of the freshest things I've heard all year, with simple repeated phrases building into gradually unfolding improvisations. Barely visible on the left is the vocalist (rapper, singer, poet or something) Kokayi, who I hadn't heard of before, but now I have: https://kokayi.bandcamp.com/album/pro-deo-et-patria
Teenage Fanclub tonight, also at the 9:30. Descendents tomorrow night. Then I need a break.
Craig
I've said it before, nothing beats a great power trio. This is one of the best, see 'em if you get the chance.
Redd Kross (May 2, Black Cat) - so much fun. I've loved them for years but never seen them before. It's obvious that they love rock n roll as much as the fans do, and they happen to be really good at it but don't take themselves seriously at all. I feel like I had a big goofy grin on my face the whole time, particularly when they played the entire Teen Babes From Monsanto EP, including KISS, Bowie and Stones covers.
Midnight Oil (Fillmore Silver Spring, May 9) - another old favorite that I'd never seen before. They have always had a rep as a kick-ass live band, and it's well deserved. Sold-out and very enthusiastic crowd.
Pixies (Lincoln Theatre, May 16) - saw them 2-3 years ago when they started touring again, this show was better. No banter with the crowd, Frank never opened his mouth except to sing, but they were very tight and played everything I wanted to hear. And I had never been to the Lincoln Theatre before, it's owned by the same people who run the 9:30 Club, very cool venue.
Old 97's (Birchmere, June 15) - seen them a bunch of times and they never disappoint. New album is very good, the last one was even better - they keep adding to an incredible back catalog of songs. This was their first time playing the Birchmere, which happens to be five minutes from my house, so they get bonus points for that. There was an opening band, headliners played for 90+ minutes and I was still home by 10:15.