Two Times One Night: Los Lobos at the Compound Grill
Los Lobos delivered as expected last night at the Compound Grill in Scottsdale. The wife was a great sport, and powered through two full shows with me – an 8pm dinner show and a 11pm late show. Friends Jen and Brian also rocked out all night along with us.The Compound Grill is a brand new venue, having been open only a few months now, and it was built with live music (and good food) in mind. So the atmosphere was just fantastic – a small club feel, friendly and attentive staff, and a great sound system. The early show was sold out with the max capacity of 200 people, so it felt like the coolest private party I’d ever been to. Eating dinner, putting back a pint or two, with Los Lobos as the house band.
After the first show, most of the folks cleared out, leaving those of us who were in it for the two shows. I was expecting it to fill up again, but the late crowd ended up being probably 80-100 people tops. This only elevated that private party feel. Guitarist Cesar Rojas set the celebratory atmosphere from the very beginning – toasting “Salud!” with a glass of red wine. He toasted “Salud” throughout the night, right up through the last tune of the night as the clock ticked past 1am (“Bertha”).
The highlights were many. The cover tunes included a blistering 1-2 punch of Neil Young’s “Down by the River” into Jimi’s “Are You Experienced?” in the first show (jaw dropping solos by David Hidalgo, Cesar, and Louie Perez); a great cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “300 Pounds of Joy”; Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy”; another Jimi cover, “Red House” near the end of the late show; and of course their popular take on the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha”.
Another cool moment: slow dancing with my wife at the foot of the stage, as Lobos played a 50’s doo-wop ballad, “Daddy’s Home”. Dancing slow with the lady, and looking up to see Los Lobos playing five feet away? Priceless.
Of course, Los Lobos has a rich catalog to draw from – and the night featured old and new (full set list below) – including great versions of “Kiko”, “Evangeline”, “I Got Loaded”, and the always raucous “La Bamba”/”Good Lovin'” combo, which whipped the dance floor into a frenzy, and Hidalgo inviting a few young ladies to dance on the stage.
I always get instantly nostalgic after a great live music experience – so tonight feels a little bittersweet. The feeling I get while watching Los Lobos live is one I’d like to carry around with me every day of my life. If you’re one of the many who haven’t seen Los Lobos live, please put it on your bucket list and find out what this feeling is all about…
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Cesar threw a few CD’s into the crowd last night. My wife grabbed a hold of one – their latest CD, Los Lobos Goes Disney. We listened today, and the album is a blast. It also contains a slow, beautiful tune called “Not in Nottingham” (from Robin Hood). Check it out…
Buy the MP3 of Not In Nottingham
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SET LIST
Los Lobos
February 20th, 2010
The Compound Grill, Scottsdale, AZ8pm Show
La Pistola y El Corazon
Saint Behind the Glass
I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)
One Time One Night
Happy Birthday – electric
Chuco’s Cumbia
Dream in Blue
Down By The River (Neil Young) >
Are You Experienced? (Jimi Hendrix) >
Kiko and the Lavender Moon
Let’s Say Goodnight
Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio
Soy Mexico Americano
Volver, Volver
Road to Gila Bend
Don’t Worry BabyEncore:
Mas y Mas11pm Show
La La La La La (Blendells)
Evangeline
Luz De Mi Vida
Whiskey Trail
Why Do You Do?
Emily
Wicked Rain
The Neighborhood >
300 Pounds of Joy (Howlin’ Wolf)
Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic)
That Train Don’t Stop Here
Daddy’s Home (Shep & the Limelites)
Maricela
Red House (Jimi Hendrix)
I Got Loaded
La Bamba > Good Lovin’ > La Bamba (Ritchie Valens)Encore:
Bertha (Grateful Dead)Los Lobos – Live & Late Night this Saturday in Scottsdale
This is already the perfect time of year here in the Phoenix area – sunny, 75 degrees, and Spring Training about to kick into high gear – but when I got the news earlier this week that Los @#@! Lobos will be in town this Saturday, I about spun around and did the splits James Brown style – and that is not an easy feat.
This Saturday night, Los Lobos will play not one, but two shows at one of the valley’s newer live music venues: The Compound Grill in north Scottsdale. They’re slated for a 8:00 show and a late night, down n’ dirty 11:00 show.
Look, if you’re in Arizona, and especially if you’ve never seen Los Lobos – a national treasure of a band – you need to make your way to the Compound Grill on Saturday night. Do yourself and your friends a favor, and experience a quintessential American band: roots, Tex-Mex, 50’s rock & roll, Latin, Americana, rhythm & blues… there are few things as satisfying as the live Los Lobos experience.
I know this is the ultimate fluff piece, but seriously people, look to the sidebar, Los Lobos are permanently enshrined in the Ickmusic Hall of Fame!
Long Live Los Lobos! And see you Saturday night!
Buy tickets from the Compound Grill Web Site.
My Night With The Pogues (@ the Marquee Theater)
Check another one off of my bucket list – I have now seen the Pogues.
Last night’s show at the Marquee Theater in Tempe was their first stop in Arizona. Ever. And it was my first chance to catch a band I’ve long admired – a legendary British band masterfully playing Irish folk music since 1982. A band fronted for most of their years by the notoriously erratic and often [always?] inebriated Shane MacGowan.
This was the 7th show of a relatively short swing across the West and central U.S., and reports in from their Los Angeles show a few nights ago had me reconsidering the steep $60 ticket price. Shane wasn’t in great shape at the Nokia Theater – stumbling and fumbling around, falling down multiple times; at one point finishing a song lying on his back.
But Shane is like that box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. He has his good days and his bad days, and I wasn’t about to miss the chance to see these legends.
After a couple pints of Guinness at my old haunt, Casey Moore’s Oyster House (I lived around the corner for five years back in my single days) – it was off to the Marquee Theater across the Mill Avenue bridge.
It was a little after 10pm when the band sauntered on stage to the sounds of the Clash’s “Straight to Hell” on the PA. 10-15 seconds after his bandmates came out (just enough time for the crowd to think “Uh oh” to themselves), Shane MacGowan – drink and cigarette in hand – shuffled out to center stage in a seasoned drunkard’s stagger.
Then the opening notes of “Sally Maclennane” kicked in, and there was no looking back. My friend Todd and I spent the show front and center, just on the outer edge of the drunken mosh pit that would vary in intensity throughout the evening (but was never still). Even during songs like “Dirty Old Town” and “Rainy Night In Soho”, there were at least a few testosterone-laced brutes jostling around.
As the show progressed, a pattern began to take shape: a couple songs with Shane, and one without – while Shane took a breather side stage (I assume). But like clockwork, Shane would make his way back to center stage, grab the mic in his signature style, and sing the great songs of the Pogues. Unlike his earlier shows in San Diego and L.A., he stood the entire time. It seems funny to be thankful that an artist you paid $60 to see was able to simply stand for a whole show. But this is Shane MacGowan we’re talking about. I’d be interested to know if Shane has ever been sober for a performance.
Clearly it was one of Shane’s “good” nights. Maybe it was the Arizona sunshine at the Biltmore luxury resort, where the Pogues stayed; or maybe it was the U2 concert in Glendale the night before, where Shane was in attendance, and prompted a shout out from Bono himself (and a segue into “Dirty Old Town”). Maybe the U2 show inspired Shane to pull it together for his fans.
Whatever forces of nature were in place, it resulted in over 90 minutes of unbridled Irish-inspired joy and revelry. The crowd – old and young alike – swayed, danced, and most notably, smiled. This was one of those live music experiences where time stood still. Before I knew it, the final song,”Fiesta”, was playing, Spider Stacy was smashing a pizza pan against his forehead, and Shane was leading the crowd in a singalong:
“Come all you rambling boys of pleasure / And ladies of easy leisure / We must say Adios! until we see Almeria once again”.
And then it was over.
I may never see the Pogues again. God willing, Shane MacGowan will continue to defy all odds behind his self destructive behavior, and he will continue to front this amazing band. But I thank the Music Gods I had an opportunity to experience the spirited majesty of a Pogues show.
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On Twitter: well, people do read the Twitter ramblings of @ickmusic! Check out this Phoenix New Times article.
On Youtube: 1123Mozart captured this great quality video of “Rainy Night in Soho”..
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Set List – Marquee Theatre – Tempe, Arizona – 10/21/2009
Sally Maclennane
Streams of Whiskey
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
The Broad Majestic Shannon
Young Ned Of The Hill
White City
A Pair of Brown Eyes
Tuesday Morning
Transmetropolitan
Kitty
Sunnyside of the Street
Repeal of the Licensing Laws
Body of an American
Old Main Drag
Thousands are Sailing
Dirty Old Town
Bottle of Smoke
The Sick Bed of CuchulainStar of the County Down
Rainy Night in Soho
Irish RoverPaddy on the Railway
FiestaSweating under the Gaslight: The Gaslight Anthem @ the Clubhouse in Tempe
If you or any of your friends question the quality of new music today, grab them (or yourself) by the ear and take ’em to see The Gaslight Anthem when they come to your town.
Tuesday was our first 100 degree day here in the Phoenix area, and the temp hadn’t cooled inside the small n’ sweaty Clubhouse in Tempe. It was steamy, it was sweaty, and the Gaslight Anthem cranked the heat up even further with their searing 90 minutes of uptempo Strummer/Boss-inspired rock n’ roll.
Standing a few feet back of stage left, it was impossible not to be swept right into the experience. First off, each of the four members of Gaslight are characters in their own right: drummer Benny Horowitz and his steady rapid-fire machine gun rhythms; lead guitarist Alex Rosamilia – bearded, hat low over his eyes and cocked to the right just a touch – alternately slumping over his guitar and thrashing about in short bursts; bass player Alex Levine, who reminds me of Paul Simonon, with his cool rock star bass pose: legs spread wide, bass slung low…
And then there’s Brian Fallon. White t-shirt, arms sleeved with ink, and a confident, strong demeanor on stage. Not cocky – completely gracious and interactive with the audience, actually. Example: during one of the encore tunes (“Angry Johnny And The Radio”, I think), he noticed one of the fawning girls in front of the stage looking especially thirsty (how I don’t know, a front man’s sixth sense?). He managed to gesture for a water bottle, sing the lyrics, play his guitar, and signal toward the girl – all in that smooth rock star swagger. Impressive!
Fallon is as magnetic and commanding of a front man as I’ve seen in a young band. But hell, if you’re raised on Strummer and the Boss, you’ve got two of the best to model yourself after.
The electricity that occurs when these four guys play a song – just incredible. The examples are too numerous to mention. But they had me completely by the balls during songs like “The ’59 Sound” and “The Patient Ferris Wheel”. When Rosamilia ch-ch-chunked his guitar to lead off “Ferris Wheel”, it reminded me of a chainsaw firing up – the FORCE of these guys playing together. There is a clear chemistry that these four share, and they need to keep this band together and evolving as this unit – at all costs.
Do I sound excited yet? Well, that’s what a hot night of real rock n’ roll does to me. Sounds so cliche, but some of ’em ring true.
The guys played the lion’s share of songs from their great label debut, The ’59 Sound. They also dipped back into their first full length, Sink or Swim, which I just picked up tonight on eMusic (I HAD to have these tunes). They wrapped up the night with a fired up take on the Tom Waits-penned “Downtown Train” – hardly recognizable compared to the original, save for the lyrics.
Taking in this amazing live band, and scanning the young crowd around me, fists pumped in the air and singing along to every song, it was all pretty damn refreshing, and renewed my spirit. Hell, it’s been a very spiritually renewing month of live music for me – Springsteen, Cockburn, the Gaslight Anthem – thanks April!
If you’ve been around here a while, you know full well of my adulation for John Graham Mellor, aka Mr. Joe Strummer. Well, on Sink or Swim, and played during the encore last night, there’s a tune that shows how in synch I am with Mr. Fallon and the boys. It’s a song called “I’da Called You Woody, Joe”…
And I never got to tell him so I just wrote it down,
I wrapped a couple chords around it and I let it come out,
When the walls of my bedroom trembled around me,
To this ramshackle voice over attack of a bluesbeat,
And a girl, on the excitement gang.
That was the sound of the very last gang in town.Quick Primer: if you want very quickly to become a Gaslight Anthem fan, watch this January performance of “The ’59 Sound” on Letterman. Click the HQ button for some high quality action. You’re welcome.
Links: Official Site | MySpace | Slideshow from the Phoenix New Times
Review: Dave Matthews Band at Madison Square Garden
Photo: John Waters
“Who starts a tour at Madison Square Garden?”
Apparently when you are Dave Matthews Band, the answer is, well, you. Returning to the last venue the band played at the close of their 2008 tour, the band kick started their 2009 tour with a set that could really only be described as epic. There was a definite underlying theme to the night celebrating both the release of their upcoming album Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King, and the life and spirit of LeRoi Moore, whose presence was definitely felt throughout the evening.
Before I get too far into the main event, I’ve got to give some love to Philadelphia’s Legendary Roots Crew. Folks that follow Questlove on twitter know that Tuesday was a busy day for the band running from their ‘day job’ at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to The Garden and then to their weekly gig at Highline. My wife Christine and I met up with some friends and fellow DMB fans before the show for drinks and dinner, and it was Questlove’s tweet that let us know it was time to head over. Still dressed in their late night gear the band absolutely killed it, wasting not a single second to silence or typical between song banter. From Led Zeppelin to R&B to Hip-Hop the group did not miss a beat blending it all into a tasty gumbo. Highlights for me came at guitarists Captain Kirk Douglas’ take on Cody ChestnuTT‘s “The Seed (2.0)” hook, Black Thought’s absolute mastery on the mic and percussionist Frankie Knuckles leading the band through dance routines Jerome Benton-style.
Photo: John Waters
Seated behind the stage we could clearly view the activity taking place as the road crew set up the curtains and prepped the stage. Dave sauntered out and pumped his fists jumping up and down for those of us who could see him and the band warmed up the intro to “Don’t Drink the Water” from their 1998 classic Before These Crowded Streets. For as many times as I’ve heard “Don’t Drink the Water” (and this marks the third consecutive time I’ve heard it as a show opener) it never wears. The “This Land is Your Land” tag elicited a roar from the crowd as he used Woody Guthrie‘s words to supplement his own toasting the “New York Island”. Following closely was the tour staple “Corn Bread”, a salacious little bit of country fried funk that inspired Dave to choreograph his own brand of dance to a fury that I’ve not seen since James Brown sat in with the band a few years back. The band launched into the first of three new tracks from Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King, “Funny the Way It Is” (which had been released for free earlier in the day) to an audience already singing back to them.
The first sign that this was not to be just another tour kick-off was the appearance of “Raven” from Busted Stuff which has not been performed by the band since 2006. Building on the momentum the band tore through an amped up version of “You Might Die Trying” from 2005’s Stand Up. Guitarist Tim Reynolds delivered his exclusive brand of fret board gymnastics and made it look easy. The second debut came with the mid-tempo “Spaceman” which juxtaposed Dave’s scat like vocals against a gently rolling groove. This one definitely has potential…
I’m not all there, I’m a faithful sinner
I might get lost, but I’ll be home for dinner
If God don’t like me, he can hand me to hellNot coming home till the good day’s gone
Working as hard, as the day is long
Working men watch me, when I get home“Dancing Nancies” from the bands label debut Under the Table and Dreaming segued nicely into “Pig” both of which prominently featured violinist Boyd Tinsley‘s soulful violin. I’m not certain if Boyd’s new violin is a more traditional build than his original custom model, but its tone was sweeter and harmonic and his turns driving the ship were all the better for it. As the crew brought an additional microphone onto the stage Dave welcomed Gregg Allman (who just “happened to be in town”) up to run through the classic “Melissa” with Gregg and Dave trading verses.
On any other night this would be a showstopper, but the night was young and far from being over. After running through old school fan favorites “Recently”, and the sadly ironic “So Damn Lucky” the band switched gears for the dark “#27”. Dave introduced the final new track of the evening with a tribute to the bands fallen member LeRoi Moore with the emotional and decidedly heavy “Why I Am”.
Still here dancing with the Groogrux king
Will be drinking big whiskey, while we dance and sing
When my story ends, it’s gonna end with him
Heaven or hell, I’m going there with the Groogrux kingFrom there the band turned up the tempo with a killer version of the anathematic “Ants Marching”. At moments I could not tell you who was louder, the band or the crowd the 20,000 strong sang along every single word. Almost certain that the set was ending the band surprised me by launching into a powerful “#41” featuring saxophonist Jeff Coffin‘s first step into the spotlight of the night. His solo was delivered with such ferocity that it was almost as if he were blowing The Garden down himself. The “Sojourn of Arjuna” interpolation with Coffin and Rashawn Ross on trumpet adds a new twist to the classic and Reynolds again lends soaring leads to the mix of the 17-plus minutes of jamming.
At the close I said to myself that if they ended the show here I’d be happy, but as notes faded the familiar strum of “Two Step” brought the crowd to an absolute frenzy. The entire band traded measures with each and every member showcasing their immense talent. Starting with a restrained but powerful lead by bassist Stefan Lessard and wrapping with 4 plus minutes of percussive bliss courtesy of Carter Beauford, the band kept it going for nearly another 20 minutes before leaving the stage for a quick breather. Dave returned with Tim, Carter and Rashawn for the touching “Sister”, and the rest of the band came back to close the set with the joyful “Tripping Billies”.
As Christine and I made our way back to Grand Central in the pouring rain, we commented to each other on just how extraordinary a show we just witnessed, and quickly rattled back and forth our highlights. It was an emotional experience seeing the band without LeRoi, but it was clear that this night was a celebration of his life, his songs, and his spirit that the band is clearly carrying forward with them.
Dave Matthews Band at Madison Square Garden
New York, New York
April 14, 2009
Set List:
Don’t Drink the Water
Cornbread
Funny the Way It Is
Raven
You Might Die Trying
Spaceman
Dancing Nancies
Pig
Melissa (w/Gregg Allman)
Recently
So Damn Lucky
#27
Why I Am
Ants Marching
#41
Two StepEncore:
Sister
Tripping BilliesBonus Video!
*It’s not great, but it’s something…
Dave Matthews Band – Funny the Way It Is (live) (YouTube)
Pre-Order Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King: Amazon
Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace
Up the Hill: Bruce Cockburn @ the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff
There are two Bruces in the music world I am very fond of. One is Springsteen, the other is Cockburn. This weekend, the perfect storm of shows came to pass: the Weekend of Bruce. Friday night was the Boss. And on Saturday, the wife and I took off for Flagstaff on an anxiously awaited 24 hour getaway to see Bruce Cockburn.
I discovered Cockburn in 1994, when his great album Dart to the Heart was being played on local radio. It was an amazing discovery for me – his albums date back to 1970 (the year I was born), and I snatched most of them up. Masterful guitar playing, a clear and soothing singing voice, and a very diverse range of subject matter when it comes to the lyrics: from affairs of the heart to land mines, the metaphysical and spiritual to the eradication of Native American culture. He’s a very intelligent and thought provoking man.
It had been about 10 years since I last saw him live, so I made sure I scored tickets early when I heard about it. And that paid off, because we found ourselves in the front row last night (man, what a weekend for great location!). The setting was the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff, a great little theater on Aspen Street. It’s a nice long room with a large stage in front, and a bar area in the back which runs a good way along the side of the theater. We were bummed to discover that it closes at the end of April – permanently. Another great venue bites the dust (like they always seem to).
Bruce had three acoustic guitars set up, along with a dobro and a tiny 12-string guitar called a tarango (which originated in the Andes of South America). Out he came in army/cargo pants and a tan jacket, with his gray hair pulled up into a pony tail on the top of his head, and his signature specs. Speaking of gray hair, there was quite a bit of it in the crowd. There were a few scattered “younger” folks like me and my wife, but I would say most of the crowd was 50+ (Bruce undoubtedly has many more younger followers up in Canada, where he’s very revered and well known, as he should be).
On to the music. With a catalog that spans back to 1970, Bruce had plenty to choose from. He reached as far back as 1979 for “Wondering Where the Lions Are”, from one of my favorite albums of his – Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaw. The crowd stayed pretty silent throughout (at the venue’s request, being a quiet solo acoustic show), but Bruce implored the crowd to sing along to the chorus on this one. Nice moment. He also reached back to “How I Spent My Fall Vacation” – a highlight from 1980’s Humans, for the opening song of his encore.
But most of the two sets focused on his tunes from the last couple decades. It was great to hear a handful from Nothing But a Burning Light, Dart to the Heart, and Charity of Night, which were three of the albums that cemented my love for his music in the mid 90’s. “Night Train” and “Pacing the Cage” came from Charity (you may know “Pacing the Cage” from Jimmy Buffett’s version). “Kit Carson” and the show closer, “Child of the Wind” came from Burning Light – the latter song has a simple powerful lyric that I had in my head when I woke up this morning: “I love my sweet woman down to the core.” And from Dart to the Heart, Bruce pulled out the tarango for “Bone In My Ear” – one of the many songs that had me mystified at how this one man can make so many sounds come out of an instrument.
It’s hard to describe Bruce’s finger picking style, but I’ll try. His right hand is fixed in sort of the Hawaiian “hang ten” look – with his thumb providing the bass lines on the top strings, and his pinkie finger resting on the guitar under the strings. The jaw-dropping part is that his middle three fingers look like they’re completely still when you’re facing him. But holy jeebs, the sounds – the amazing picking that generate from the tips of those fingers underneath! I’m always in awe seeing him play live, and even more so last night sitting 15 feet from him. See it for yourself right here.
Other highlights for me: “Last Night of the World”, “Beautiful Creatures” (featuring a hauntingly beautiful falsetto in the chorus), “Elegy” (a slow and sublime instrumental), and of course it’s always great to hear ‘If I Had A Rocket Launcher”.
It’s almost midnight on Sunday night, the end of an amazing weekend of music. It was a once in a lifetime “perfect storm” of Bruce Music, and how satisfying to the soul to sit back and reflect on these past two nights – experiencing two great musicians up close, soaking up all their years of musicianship – such experts at their craft.
Thanks Bruces.
Set List
Set I
World of Wonders
Last Night of the World
See You Tomorrow
Night Train
Pacing the Cage
Lovers In A Dangerous Time
Bone In My Ear (on tarango)
Elegy (on dobro)
Wait No More (on dobro)Set II
Jerusalem Poker
Beautiful Creatures
Call Me Rose
Kit Carson
Put It In Your Heart
If a Tree Falls
Wondering Where the Lions Are
Celestial HorsesEncore
How I Spent My Fall Vacation
If I Had A Rocket Launcher
Child of the WindReview: Jason Mraz at Radio City Music Hall
Despite listening to him since his days at Java Joes, Friday night was my first experience seeing Jason Mraz live. I was not alone in my first experience as it was Mr. A-Z’s first show at the legendary Radio City Music Hall, a that fact did not seem lost on him as he pulled out all the stops for what was one of the most entertaining and memorable shows I’ve attended in the last few years.
The evening started with Irish chanteuse Lisa Hannigan. I was really only familiar with her in the context of her work with Damien Rice and really enjoyed her solo set. With a 4 piece band of multi-instrumentalists to back her up, she performed a selection from her debut Sea Sew. “An Ocean and a Rock” was simply beautiful and captivating. “Lille” was delicate and lovely, which seems to be the essence of Miss Hannigan. I will definitely be picking up the record based on this performance.
After a brief intermission it was time for Mraz. The night started with the full 7 piece band taking the stage for “Make it Mine” the lead track from his latest release We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. Wasting no time, the band segued directly into a fresh (and lively) take on Mraz’s first hit “The Remedy”. This was the first of many times that the crowd would fill the hallowed hall with their voices in unison with Jason and he wasted no time in using it to his musical devices and creating a live mash up with the ladies singing the chorus and the boys (what few were in attendance) layering Oasis‘s hit “Wonderwall” over top to great effect.
The band slowly began to recede during “If It Kills Me” and a quiet “You & I Both” and whittled down to the core trio of Ian Sheridan, Toca Rivera and Mraz for the stark and utterly heartbreaking “A Beautiful Mess”. Sheridan even broke out the stand up bass for the occasion bringing to mind the small club feel and making this one of the moments that Jason managed to make Radio City seem like an intimate club for five minutes. This feel continued with the simple and lovely “Life Is Wonderful”.
The rest of the band returned as well as four additional microphones as the back drop took on a decidedly religious slant. It was clear that it was time to go to church! “Live High” came to a grand crescendo with the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir joining in to bring the house down. The choir stayed on for an uplifting rendition of “Oh! Happy Day”. I should mention here that over the band, the crowd, and the choir Jason maintained a presence and a quality of voice that was astounding.
“Dynamo of Volition” brought the crowd to it’s feet for some well choreographed dance moves. It’s interesting to see 5,000 happy fools raising the roof in unison at Radio City. The crowd stayed on its feet for the remainder of the show as Jason kicked into “I’m Yours” to a crowd ready to make a joyful sound. I’ll let the video do the talking on this one.
After and incredibly short encore break Mraz brought Lisa Hannigan back out to play Colbie Caillat’s part in the duet “Lucky” and from there it was non-stop from the rave up of “Build Me Up, Buttercup” to the beautiful finale of “Song for a Friend” the significance of how grand a night it was long on nobody in the room. This was a perfect cap to the concert season and for my wife and I a beautiful way to celebrate our first year of marriage.
Pre-Order A Thousand Things: MusicToday
See the full setlist and the rest of the tour dates after the jump.
Review: Huey Lewis & The News Live at Seaside Summer Concert Series
The Heart of Rock & Roll is still beating in Coney Island.
“New York, New York, is everything they say and no place that I’d rather be”, with these words Huey Lewis & The News kicked off the final show of the 30th Seaside Summer Concert Series at Asser Levy/Seaside Park in Coney Island. The band wasted little time in bringing their West Coast flavor of blue-eyed soul to Brighton Beach.
The first highlight for me came early in the set when I finally got to see the band perform “If This Is It”. I’ve seen Huey and the boys no less than 4 times in the last 4 years and this tune has eluded me each time. Stef Burns (Y&T, Alice Cooper, Shelia E.) absolutely ruled the evening on the musical front letting loose solo after solo. Next up was “The Power of Love” followed by the new tune “Pineapple Express” from the movie of the same name (check out Popdose for Jason Hare’s take on Soundtrack “Title” Songs). Personally I dig the tune, even if it is just “Hip to be Square” with different lyrics.
For the A Cappella portion of the show the band followed the concert staple “It’s Alright” with “Under the Boardwalk” which had the entire crowd on its feet and singing along. The next highlight for me was the rarity “Walking On a Thin Line” which I last saw performed with Chris Berman (yes, that Chris Berman) on guest vocals.
For the encore the band rolled out it’s ‘other’ soundtrack hit “Back in Time” followed by a slower mellower version of “Do You Believe in Love”. The night ended with “Workin’ for a Livin'” and a dedication to “Brooklyn’s Finest”.
I also have to mention the opener Paul Thorn whom I will write about at great length in a coming post, but for now echo Huey’s sentiment that “there ain’t nothing not to like about Paul Thorn.”
Huey Lewis & The News
Asser Levy Park, Coney Island, NY
August 21, 2008Set List:
The Heart of Rock & Roll
My Other Woman
I Want a New Drug >
Small World
If This Is It
The Power of Love
Pineapple Express
Jacobs Ladder
It’s Alright
Under the Boardwalk
Walking On a Thin Line
Heart and Soul
But It’s Alright
We’re Not Here for a Long TimeBack in Time
Do You Believe in Love
Workin’ for a Livin’Bonus Video!
Links: Official Site | on Last.fm | on MySpace
Live Los Lobos
You know, this blog will turn four years old this year, and it turns out I’ve never graced the pages with live Los Lobos before. Huh? That’s just wrong.
Here’s a great soundboard show from last year’s Edmonton Blues Festival. The crowd is great, and they go bonkers when the band pulls out Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” for the encore. Another highlight is David Hidalgo’s guitar wizardry on “Mas y Mas”.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and again): Los Lobos are an American treasure, and hands down one of the best bands around.
For the whole show, download the ZIP.
Los Lobos @ the Edmonton Blues Festival
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
August 27th, 20071. Pigfoot Shuffle
2. The Neighborhood
3. Don’t Worry Baby
4. Evangeline
5. David Hidalgo intro to Fat Man
6. The Fat Man
7. Manny’s Bones
8. Let’s Say Goodnight
9. Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio
10. Volver, Volver
11. I Got Loaded
12. Mas y mas (mp3)
13. Cinnamon Girl (mp3)Keep up with the boys at Los Lobos.com.
Review: George Michael in Phoenix, June 22
You know what’s entertaining to me? The looks I got from people over the last couple of months – some of them close friends of mine – when they found out I was going to see George Michael in concert. Say what you will friends, but like a lot of people, George’s music has been a part of my life for over 20 years.
Thinking back, I was never a huge fan of the Wham! stuff. It wasn’t until 1987, when George released Faith, that I would call myself a fan. Four words reeled me in: I – Want – Your – Sex.
