Posted by The G on May 23, 2012 under Encounters with G | 
Photos by G.
Beth Ditto and Geoffrey Dicker
I love Gossip! Not actual gossip, but the band Gossip. The trio was in town to perform a record release show for their great new album “A Joyful Noise” which was released on May 22, 2012. If you don’t know the music of Gossip, definitely check them out. And on new tracks such as “Move in the Right Direction” just try and sit still while the song plays. It’s impossible! They started off as a punk rock band (and lead singer Beth Ditto has a set of pipes on her that makes you realize she was born to perform) and have recently been exploring dancier territory.
Brace Paine and Geoffrey Dicker
If you’ve never seen Gossip live, I highly recommend it as their shows are high energy with Beth Ditto running all over the stage and they tend to always throw in an unexpected cover. In the past, I’ve heard Grace Jones’ “Pull Up To The Bumper” and Wham’s “Careless Whisper.”
Hannah Blilie and Geoffrey Dicker
Thanks Gossip for rockin’ and, of course, for being so cool!
Posted by The G on under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Shirley Manson of Garbage
I am so pleased to utter a sentence I’ve been waiting to say for seven years: Garbage is back! The alt-rock quartet made their return to the New York stage on May 22, 2012, with a way-sold out show at Webster Hall. In the mid-90s when Garbage first hit the scene, they were able to penetrate my ears when I was basically only listening to classic rock, 80s music and R&B/funk. Bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana did nothing for me at the time because I just couldn’t understand the usage of screeching guitars in the music, but Garbage brought me over to the “dark side,” if you will. Also, in the pre-mix CD/iPod era, our musical attention spans were much greater and I remember wearing out (and never skipping tracks on) Garbage’s self-titled debut as well as Version 2.0 (which would rank high on my top albums of all time list, should I ever get around to making one). I mention these two types of feelings because I heard them expressed over and over again at their show.
Shirley Manson of Garbage
At the stroke of 9 PM, the wait at last was over. Garbage hit the stage and for nearly 2 hours, they slayed the audience with a hit-packed set that was anything but garbage. Before the night was over, the band played the first track off each of their 5 records, generous selections from each album, including their new and independently released record “Not Your Kind of People,” their two soundtrack hits (“The World Is Not Enough” from the James Bond movie of the same name and “#1 Crush” from “Romeo and Juliet”) as well as a few non-single gems like “Metal Heart” and “Supervixen.”
Duke Erikson of Garbage
Garbage has so many hits that most bands would have saved tracks like “Stupid Girl,” “Only Happy When It Rains,” “Push It” or “Why Do You Love Me” for the encore, but instead, they were just peppered into the main set, which of course made the crowd go extra wild. Shirley Manson talked about how it was great to be back and in the 7 years that they’ve been away, they’ve gone through a lot personally with new additions to families and many losses as well. She also introduced the band, something very uncommon to see at a Garbage concert (and I know as I’ve seen them many times in many different sized venues).
Steve Marker of Garbage
The show, which will be on my top shows list of 2012 (out of hundreds of bands I will see before this year is up), had so many highlights that it’s hard to even think of all of them. However, the second song of the night “Temptation Waits” with its wonderful lyrics such as “I’ll tell you something/I am a wolf but I like to wear sheep’s clothing” got the crowd revved up and before launching into the lyrics of “#1 Crush,” Shirley sang the chorus of Madonna’s “Erotica.” It was also great to hear “Cherry Lips” from their last album “Bleed Like Me” and the new single “Blood For Poppies.”
Shirley Manson of Garbage
With a 21 song set list, there’s no way to complain about song omissions, but just to show how many great songs Garbage have, here’s s a few singles that were not played: When I Grow Up, Special, You Look So Fine, Androgyny, Breaking Up the Girl and Bleed Like Me. For the fans keeping track of what songs from what albums were played, here’s a break down:
Garbage: Supervixen, Vow, Queer, Stupid Girl, Only Happy When It Rains, Milk
Version 2.0: Temptation Waits, I Think I’m Paranoid, Push It, The Trick Is To Keep Breathing
Beautiful Garbage: Shut Your Mouth, Cherry Lips
Bleed Like Me: Bad Boyfriend, Metal Heart, Why Do You Love Me
Not Your Kind of People: Automatic Systematic Habit, Blood For Poppies, Battle In Me, Bright Big World
Non-Album Tracks: The World Is Not Enough, #1 Crush
Shirley Manson and Butch Vig
Welcome back Garbage! The show was anything but garbage. Although Shirley Manson said that New York crowds are very tough to please, I didn’t hear anyone say one bad thing about the show as I rocked away into the night.
After the jump, see the set list.
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Tags: 2012, Band, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, Garbage, Images, Live, May 22, New York, Photos, Review, Set List, Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Webster Hall
Posted by The G on May 19, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Har Mar Superstar (with Father John Misty on Drums)
May 18, 2012 was a night of fun, funk, folk and partial nudity as Har Mar Superstar and Father John Misty performed a sold out show at New York’s Mercury Lounge. Har Mar Superstar (born Sean Tillman) is a singer/songwriter who knows the funk and who knows how to get down! Before his hour long set was over, he removed many layers of clothing (including a shirt from the Purple Rain tour!) and got down in his underwear! It was quite a site! He noticed me taking photos in the front row and told me to keep shooting pics! I did! 
One of the highlights was an impromptu song called “Bring us 4 shots of Jagermeister” whose lyrics consisted of that line repeated over and over again. It worked and moments after the song, 4 shots were delivered to the stage. Playing drums for Har Mar Superstar was the headliner, Father John Misty.
Har Mar Superstar
Father John Misty's CD "Fear Fun" featuring cover art by Dima Drjuchin
Full disclosure: I initially got tickets to see this show based on the fact that Dima (click here to read an interview with Dima in a new window) designed the gorgeous artwork for Father John Misty’s cd without hearing a note of his music. I was not disappointed. Father John Misty (born Josh Tillman) rocked! His music has an Americana/folk/rock element to it and in between songs, Father John Misty was hilarious! He made jokes, told funny stories and reenacted the voices of random characters, presumably created on the tour bus in between cities.
Father John Misty
I was highly amused by Father John Misty’s lyrics that had mentions of Jesus Christ, Joseph Campbell and the Rolling Stones and not in the ways that you might think. Hear for yourself tonight as Father John Misty and Har Mar Superstar play Brookyln’s Knitting Factory on May 19, 2012.
Tags: 2012, Band, Dima Drjuchin, Father John Misty, Fear Fun, Har Mar Superstar, Josh Tillman, May 18, Mercury Lounge, New York, Photo, Photos, Real Name, Review, Sean Tillman
Posted by The G on May 17, 2012 under GNN |
Photo courtesy of Young Empires.
Young Empires Summer Tour
Disco may have died today with the sad news of Donna Summer’s passing, but dance/punk is still alive and kickin!
Young Empires have announced a summer 2012 tour and it’s gonna be a dance party you will not want to miss! See you there!
Posted by The G on April 27, 2012 under Encounters with G, G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Richie Follin of Guards
On April 26, 2012, New York (via California)’s Guards packed the house at Manhattan’s Mercury Lounge. Lead singer Richie Follin is from a very talented family. His sister is Cults lead singer Madeline Follin, but sonically their music is a completely different sound. Self-described as “pop-wave-doom,” their hour long set was a lot more rock than it was doom! At times, their songs blended into another which was great as it felt like watching a concept album being performed.
Guards
I enjoyed what I heard and while the band did not have albums for sale, there is good news – for a limited time, you can download Guards’ EP for FREE from their Bandcamp page. Link will open in a new window. Highly recommended, according2g and I’ve been continuing the groove all morning. Good luck to Guards and I am excited for their next show! On a side note, I am putting it out there that I think it would be really cool if Cults and Guards toured together. Fingers crossed!
I also must post a photo of Guards’ band logo as you know I love all “G Things” and this is a good one!
Guards band Logo
See the set list after the jump.
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Tags: 2012, April 26, Band, Guards, Lead Singer, Mercury Lounge, New York, Photo, Review, Richie Follin, Set List
