Artist: The Perfects Venue: Piano’s NYC (New York, NY) Opener: n/a Date: 7/9/2011 Label: Interscope Records
Every once in awhile I like to adventure into worlds of music that are not entirely along the lines of my usual coverage because I find this keeps my musical mind strong, energized and in touch with the rich scene that exists around us. This particular adventure came about as a request of a friend in publicity whose clients were playing the intimate space called Piano’s NYC. I had been here once before earlier in the summer to catch a side project band of Brian Viglione’s and thought this to be a nice space to get a close up look at some up and coming groups. The band is called The Perfects and while they have a Rock core to their sound it is primarily ensconced in the New Wave & Electronic acts of the eighties and nineties. The group hails from Baltimore, Maryland and is fronted by singer Ric Peters and they were in NYC to celebrate their newest release “Many Nights”. Rounded out by Scott Griffiths who handles guitars and some synths along with drummer Paul von Kop, the trio delivers a much bigger sound than one might expect at first. The use of some programmed bass and additional keyboards give the band a lot more oomph on stage and while I am not sure if the eventual plan is to extend the lineup, the trio sure did make this all come to vivid life for the attending fans. Continue reading The Perfects @ Piano’s NYC (7/9/2011)→
We recently hit the NYC appearance of the Hard Rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures when they played the famous Roseland Ballroom. The show was documented in full on THIS LINK and now its time to enjoy the full gallery of photos that we secured.
Artist: Them Crooked Vultures Venue: Roseland Ballroom (New York, NY) Opener: The Brought Low Date: 2/8/2010 Label: Interscope Records
You’ve most likely heard about the super group that’s been assembled by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters recently, and if you are still unaware of what I am referring to then let me get you up to speed. According to research the little project actually had its first mention in an interview with Grohl back in 2005 but would not come to fruition until 2009. I guess it was okay to wait for this because the band places his drumming talents alongside guitarist/singer Josh Homme from the Queens Of The Stone Age and on bass none other than John Paul Jones who played with that little outfit we call Led Zeppelin. Musically this is an enterprise that has a lot of potential and while the band performed in NYC once before back in November, I was unable to attend that show and instead would be seeing it for the first time myself this evening. That show sold out and oddly enough there was no album to sell to the fans and yet they all came in droves. That was pretty cool to learn about and since that time the guys have released their debut and self-titled album so I anticipated this evening’s show selling out as well. Here is how the night went down for those who didn’t join in on the fun. Continue reading Them Crooked Vultures @ Roseland Ballroom (2/8/2010)→
Artist: Kate Voegele Venue: The Fillmore NY (New York, NY) Opener: Lesley Roy & Virginia Coalition Date: 9/25/2008 Label: MySpace Music/Interscope Records
While it’s true that the music of an artist like Kate Voegele is not something I find myself attending a concert for on a regular basis, I had to admit that I couldn’t resist the chance to give it a try based on the singer’s being a semi-regular on a hit television show and since this was actually going to be the first MySpace Music show that I would be attending. Once I found out that Lesley Roy was going to be one of the opening acts for the tour I knew I wanted to see this one a little more and the event would find me once again at The Fillmore NY but this time amidst a totally different kind of crowd than the ones I am normally surrounded by. Outside of the venue was Kate’s tour bus and it had the whole “MySpace Music presents the Back 2 School Tour” and it seemed that the event was also being supported by the University Of Phoenix, which is primarily known for being an online educator. The line to get in was almost around the block and the crowd was composed of mostly younger girls and a very few guys and I had to laugh because the last time I had witnessed something like this was when the Finnish band HIM had first touched down upon US soil for their gig at The Bowery Ballroom a few years ago. Since I wanted to absorb the whole show I made sure to get in well before the first band went on and it was fortuitous that I did that since Lesley Roy was going to be up first. Continue reading Kate Voegele @ Fillmore at Irving Plaza (9/25/2008)→
Artist: Rolling Stones Title: “Shine A Light” Original Soundtrack (deluxe edition) Label: Interscope Records Release Date: 4/1/2008 Genre: Rock & Roll Rating: 3/5
Martin Scorsese managed to capture Rock music history with his first concert film “The Last Waltz” which focused on the legendary members of The Band during their final show and now he seeks to relive this glory by delivering us a film that features a performance by the one and only Rolling Stones. The question would this film truly capture lightning in a bottle once again or would it be more of a disappointment when compared to the earlier work, and I have to say that I am on the fence a little about this one. For starters I have not yet seen the film and perhaps I need to do so in order to fully appreciate just what is happening here because the album leaves me left wanting on more than one occasion. The soundtrack for “Shine A Light” comes from 2006 when the Rolling Stones made two appearances at New York’s legendary Beacon Theater and as a venue I can officially say what a wonderful and acoustically sound room it is. Based on this one would expect an absolutely incredible live album to be recorded in the place however I didn’t feel that this soundtrack gave us the best that the Rolling Stones have ever offered because of the overall production and multitude of backing players involved. Yes the band is in their sixties now but they have always proved that they are capable of pulling out the stops and at times the band is big during this presentation yet the vocals are bigger at all times and it doesn’t sound like the musicians are on the same stage with them when Mick begins to sing. It’s this sort of un-evenness that made it hard for me to rock along with the band and these very legendary numbers. The guys present us also with a number of guest stars and this was a practice carried over from “The Last Waltz” it would seem. We find “Loving Cup” performed with The White Stripes Jack White, and “Champagne And Reefer” with Buddy Guy. These tracks are fine and work well within the context of the band but when they deliver “Live With Me” with Christina Aguilera I felt it was just too bombastic in terms of how her voice plays against that of Mr. Jagger. She is a totally amazing singer and perhaps this song comes off much stronger in the film but on the album is just a little overwhelming. Continue reading “Shine A Light” (Original Soundtrack) by The Rolling Stones→
