The Answer are a hot Rock & Roll band that knows how to deliver and on a recent snowy night in NYC they made an appearance at The Mercury Lounge. Scroll past the logo to check out the report by Skeleton Pete. I shot the photos for this one and a full gallery will be presented in addition to what you see here.
Artist: The Answer Venue: The Mercury Lounge (New York, NY) Opener: n/a Date: 2/3/2009 Label: The End Records
Inclement weather does not deter the rock faithful of NYC from their appointed rounds, which is to set the DVR, shut off the 52” LCD, and get out of the house to hear some of the great live music of which we are blessed with in abundance. So despite the frozen slush and chilling wind that came with this evening’s snowstorm, it was no surprise that when Cormac Neeson (lead vocalist of The Answer) quizzed the packed house at the Mercury lounge on February 3, 2009 – “Is this your normal Tuesday night?” – He got a resounding “Hell, yeah” back. What ensued was a smoking set of gut bucket rock and roll riffs and bluesy hollers that paid off big dividends for the intrepid attendees that evening. Continue reading The Answer @ Mercury Lounge (2/3/2009)→
Artist: Jeff Buckley Title: “Grace Around The World” Label: Epic Legacy Records Release Date: 6/2/2009 Genre: Rock Rating: 5/5
I really can’t say enough good things about this superb set from the Columbia/Legacy folks that serves not only as an historical document but a brilliant addition to the catalog of an artist who passed away from us too soon. It is clearly a labor of love on the part of Executive Producer Mary Guibert (Jeff’s mother) and her collaborators and probably the best showing to date from the Legacy Recordings group. The Expanded Deluxe Box (reviewed here) houses DVD One, consisting of 14 live performances, the “Hallelujah” video, and some interview clips. DVD Two presents the hour long, award winning, documentary “Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley”, and the included CD offers remastered audio of 12 of the first DVD’s songs. Taking a cue from The Who’s “Live At Leeds” the box’s ephemera includes facsimiles of ticket stuffs, press releases, post cards, a double sided tour poster, as well as a beautiful all access pass laminate. The slip case yields a fold out pack with DVD/CD trays and includes a 24 page color booklet with an overview from band members and the tour manager. Continue reading “Grace Around The World” by Jeff Buckley→
My Bloody Valentine was bringing their unique brand of music to NYC once again and while we were not on “official duty” in terms of documentation or photography, our own Skeleton Pete Parrella found himself pressed up against the barricade at the Roseland Ballroom and decided to let us know what the show was like. If you scroll past the logo below you will be able to enjoy these deep views on the show which help educate you on what you missed if you didn’t attend.
Artist: My Bloody Valentine Venue: Roseland Ballroom (New York, NY) Opener: The Lilys Date: 9/23/2008 Label: Creation Records
My Bloody Valentine’s aesthetic has always been taking beautiful chords and ethereal melodies and crushing them to bits under the weigh of a Gibraltar’s worth of sonic distortion, pitch-bending and volume; a little game to see what emerges after obliterating a butterfly with a Howitzer. The continued allure of the band’s meager recorded output of nearly 20 years ago is that the outcome of that obliteration is a thing of beauty in it’s own right. On September 23, 2008 the crowd attending the second sold out show at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom got to experience what that musical experimentation feels like live and in person in full uncompromising assault mode. Continue reading My Bloody Valentine @ Roseland Ballroom (9/23/2008)→
Artist: Mago De Oz Title: A Costa Da Morte (Coast of Death) Label: Locomotive Records Release Date: 11/20/2007 Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal Rating: 4/5
This live offering from Spain’s Mago De Oz (Wizard of Oz) serves as a great introduction to their more than decade long body of work, a nice way to sample some of the best songs from their expansive studio catalog presented in a well recorded and engaging double CD set.
Describing themselves uniquely as “folk-metal” the band actually goes far past that pigeon-hole by taking giant leaps across many musical genres. If it’s folk at all, it’s the folk of a band like Jethro Tull, in a style that fits comfortably between pastoral pieces like “Living In Past” and the smoking riff-rock of “Locomotive Breath”. The influences fly hard and fast even in the course of a single song, conjuring the likes of Iron Maiden (“Leyenda De La Mancha”), Deep Purple & Dio era Rainbow as well age old gypsy and Galician melodies. Maiden’s influence is particularly evident in this ten member band’s twin lead guitar attack as well as singer José Andrea’s frequent forays into stratospheric vocal ranges which approximate Bruce Dickinson or “Burn” era David Coverdale. It was not strange to learn that the group was originally called Transilvania in honor of the Iron Maiden instrumental and have covered “Strange World” for Nuclear Blast’s Tribute to the Beast, Volume 2. Continue reading “A Costa Da Morte” by Mago De Oz→
HIM was back and headlining for two nights at the beautiful Nokia Theatre Times Square and PiercingMetal.com was happy to be on point for the show review which was discussed on THIS LINK. Our stalwart companion Peter Parrella shot a majority of these images from the show but I also did a bunch which are captioned below. Enjoy this gallery of one of our favorite groups.
