Posted by The G on May 20, 2013 under G Reviews | 
Photos by G.
Owl (from left to right: Chris Wyse, Dan Dinsmore, Jason Achilles Mezilis)
California based rockers Owl came to New York last night and played the Bowery Electric on May 19, 2013. Moments before the show started, technical problems at the venue threatened the gig, but luckily the Bowery Electric was able to pull it together in time so that Owl could end our weekends on a rockin’ note. If you are unfamiliar with Owl’s music, you’d not leave one of their gigs disappointed if you like The Cult (of which lead singer Chris Wyse works with them) or Alice in Chains. One of the highlights of their hour long set was the interaction between lead singer Chris Wyse and guitarist Jason Achilles Mezilis. During many songs, Wyse and Mezilis traded guitar and bass licks back and forth and the non-verbal conversation went over really well with the packed house at Bowery Electric.
Owl
You can stream Owl’s latest album “The Right Thing” on their official website. The link will open in a new window. Thanks Owl for a great night. I had a hoot! (OK, that was a bad pun even for me).
Tags: 2013, Band Members, Bowery Electric, Chris Wyse, Dan Dinsmore, Jason Achilles Mezilis, New York, Owl, Photos, Review, the Band
Posted by The G on under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Tom Jones
The legendary Tom Jones dropped by legendary New York venue Bowery Ballroom on May 18, 2013 to showcase his latest album “Spirit In The Room.” Here are 10 observations from the show.
1. I am over 30 years of age and I was the youngest person in the room. By far. Possibly by 30 years.
2. Tom Jones is an amazing performer who deserves the praise he gets as he had the 500 person venue eating out of his hand for the entire show….
3. …despite playing only one of his greatest hits (“Green Green Grass of Home”) in the nearly 2 hour show.
4. All the die hard Tom Jones fans (some who I spoke with admitted to seeing him close to 1000 times) were delighted that he didn’t play any “hits.” The casual fans that came to see the hits walked away from the show bitter.
5. This was the first time I’ve ever seen people in walkers in the front row at Bowery Ballroom and as you know, I’ve been there hundreds of times.
Tom Jones
6. Nobody threw panties or bras onto the stage. And for that, I am truly grateful!
7. Despite not playing his own hits, we heard covers of songs originally by Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Odetta, Paul McCartney, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Elvis Presley, Joe Henry and Leonard Cohen.
8. Tom Jones went on stage around 9:15 PM. He entered the building for the first time that day at 9:02 PM.
9. During a slow song, so many people in the audience took the opportunity to yell out “Play ‘Delilah’,” nearly drowning out Tom, but because he is the consummate performer, he overcame the audience jeers and when the song was over, got some of the loudest applause of the night.
10. I would totally go see Tom Jones again.
Bonus observation:
11. I think I better dance now!
Tom Jones
See the setlist after the jump.
Read more of this article »
Posted by The G on May 19, 2013 under The G Spot |
Photo by Alan.
According2g is 4
My, how time flies.
4 years ago on this day, I launched According2g.com. At the time, I had no idea where the path would lead, but I just put one foot in front of the other, took out my camera, snapped some photos and started writing – 7 days a week!
Flash forward 4 years later and because of this blog, I am now friends or friendly with so many of my heroes. I’ve had the oppotunity to see and meet nearly all of my living heroes in the realms of music and art. My stories have been reposted on home pages of internet titans and some of my favorite bands, which continues to blow my mind. Earlier this year, a video I took of the closest thing we’ll probably ever get to a Smiths reunion and the went viral and landed me on Rolling Stone and NME’s website, two publications I’ve been reading ever since I was a child! Because of this blog, I had the opportunity to host an episode of “Weird Vibes” for MTV, a channel I’ve been watching since it launched in 1981. Because of this blog, I’ve had the chance to talk to hundreds of my idols and for all of these things and so much more, I am eternally grateful!
In addition, since I launched this blog, here’s a few “by the numbers” statistics:
- I’ve written approximately 700 posts about encounters with some of the world’s biggest celebrities, artists and rock stars.
- I’ve written close to 800 concert reviews.
- I’ve written over 800 posts about art exhibitions.
- There are 1460 days in a 4 year period and the only counting these reviews and experiences, in 6,300 plus posts, I’ve experienced over 2,300 events, which equates to over 2 events in a day, 7 days a week!!! I challenge ANY blog in the world to live up to these standards: taking your own photos, experiencing the events first hand and writing about them, 7 days a week. Many other blogs are much more successful than me, but they are nowhere near as hard working. And that is a fact!
I will not lie and tell you that this blog has helped my bank account as of this writing (but it’s coming, so I’m not worried), but no matter what happens, these amazing life changing experiences can never be stripped from me and that is something you cannot put a price on.
I would also like to put it out there in the world that I am looking to host or appear on more art/rock/celebrity based shows and also would love to collaborate with artists on songs. If you didn’t know, I’ve been known to write some pretty kick-ass song lyrics (however, I cannot write music, so I need your help!) I would also like to work with artists on a new line of T-shirts that I have brewing in my head, so if you or anyone you know can help me achieve these goals, please get in touch.
Back to the blog…
I thank all my readers for sharing these stories in their social media circles.
I thank all the artists whose works have inspired me to keep writing even when it seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, and when you think of all the technical glitches and stress that comes with blogging 7 days a week, this feeling happens a lot!
Last and certainly not least, I thank YOU for reading this.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
All my love,
G
Posted by The G on May 18, 2013 under GNN |
Photo by G.
Michael Musto
Long before I moved to New York 7 years ago, I would always try and get my hands on a copy of the Village Voice, the legendary weekly paper detailing the must see activities in New York. Once I arrived in Manhattan, the Voice became my Bible for finding out what is happening in the city. If there was one part of the Voice that I never missed reading, it was Michael Musto’s “La Dolce Musto” column, which was filled with juicy celebrity gossip and entertainment reviews. The things Musto wrote about were not just second hand accounts. Instead, he wrote about his experiences and as he’s been at the Village Voice since 1984, Musto has truly seen and done it all. He and his column have been a great source of inspiration for me as an impetus for trying to experience as much as possible in a city where life changing events are around every corner.
Yesterday, the Village Voice laid off Michael Musto. Obviously, this is a sad sign of the times that has affected every industry because nowadays it’s all about the bottom line. It doesn’t make the news any easier to swallow and thankfully, Musto’s legions of fans have taken to their social media circles to protest this injustice. Michael Musto is an extremely talented writer who will surely land on his feet and hopefully at some place even better than he was before, but as the voice of the New York entertainment scene for 28 years, it seems like our greatest champion has been prematurely silenced.
I guess this is a case of “when one door closes, another one opens” and I look forward to seeing what new opportunities arise for Michael Musto. For so many of us, the Village Voice will now be the Village Void without the humor and wit that Musto provided us weekly.
Good luck to Michael Musto and please voice your discontent to the powers that be at the Village Voice at this link.
This story is far from over…
Posted by The G on under GNN |
Photo by G.
Nick Allbrook
In a statement on Tame Impala’s Facebook page, they announced that keyboardist and bassist Nick Allbrook has left the band. Nick is also the lead singer of Pond, but there is no comment on whether he has left Tame Impala to focus on Pond full time or not. Allbrook will be replaced by Cam Avery. Good luck to Nick, who I’ve seen as both a member of Pond and Tame Impala many times.
