Posted by The G on June 21, 2012 under G Reviews | 
Photos by G.
Simon LeBon of Duran Duran
In one of the most random pairings ever, Trident Gum (no, I didn’t stutter) hosted an event at New York’s Terminal 5 on June 20, 2012 called “What Unfolds Live” and the 2 hour concert featured DJ Steve Aoki and “surprise guests.” The surprise guests were none other than Duran Duran! As you can imagine, the crowd was a mess! The audience consisted of Durannies and young ravers, which made for extremely interesting people watching (and in some ways, it was like mixing oil and water).
Steve Aoki
Steve Aoki took the stage around 8 pm, and while I really enjoyed a lot of the music he played during his seemingly never ending DJ set, I was prepared for all hell to break loose at the sight of the Fab Four and not by a guy that stood behind a laptop twisting buttons and continually showered the audience with bottles of water and champagne (sometimes sprayed directly from his mouth onto the crowd). Yuck, according2g. And he did it over and over and over again. He also brought crowd surfing to a new level as he literally had an inflatable raft that audience members passed around with people in it! The young raving crowd couldn’t seem to get enough of it and oldsters such as me and my friend literally couldn’t wait for Aoki’s set to be over.
John Taylor of Duran Duran
As Aoki “performed” his final song, he brought out the surprise guests – Duran Duran. They world premiered and performed a live version of the Aoki mix of the DD classic “Hungry Like The Wolf.” Duran Duran’s set was advertised as a 4 to 5 song set and not a full show, and that it was. As soon as Duran Duran hit the stage, a lot of the ravers split (bonus!). It was an extra special night as it was John Taylor’s birthday. Though the crowd didn’t sing to him, a lot of people had signs professing their love for the birthday boy. They began with “Girl Panic” off their highly underrated latest album “All You Need Is Now.”
Nick Rhodes
“Notorious” was next, followed by a mash-up of “Sunrise” and “Relax” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. I wonder if Duran Duran messed with the time/space continuum by performing “Relax” as I will venture to guess a lot of the crowd probably thought they performed the original version and will be telling all their friends about it! The final number of the set was “Wild Boys.”
Roger Taylor and Simon LeBon
I was fortunate enough to meet Duran Duran and photos of that will be coming soon! Book mark this site! After the jump, see the set list as well as a couple more photos!
Simon Le Bon and John Taylor
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Tags: "All You Need Is Now", 2012, Birthday, Duran Duran, John Taylor, June 20, New York, Nick Rhodes, Photos, Review, Roger Taylor, Set List, Simon LeBon, Steve Aoki, Surprise Show, Terminal 5, Trident, What Unfolds Live
Posted by The G on March 26, 2012 under Encounters with G, G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Kimbra
Hey music lovers. Commit this name to memory: Kimbra. She’s going to be HUGE! The New Zealand singer performed a way sold out show at New York’s Mercury Lounge on March 26, 2012 – her 22nd birthday. Her music has elements of pop, jazz and dance and oh, what a voice! At times I was reminded of Amy Winehouse and at other times I heard a Bjork-ish quality and also you could hear elements of Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine in her singing. Looking sexy as hell wearing a Flamenco-style red dress, she shook her money maker throughout her hour long set. She’s currently on tour with Gotye and the pair are blowing up the music world with their duet “Someone That I Used To Know.” I first discovered Kimbra on the amazing Miami Horror modern disco track ”I Look To You,” and I have to say, I love her versatility in so many different styles of music.
Kimbra!
One of the songs she performed tonight was “Plain Gold Ring,” a Nina Simone cover and this girl can SANG, as they say. Wow! She blew the roof off Mercury Lounge and the crowd erupted in screams when the song was finished. She also played “Cameo Lover,” “Two Way Street” and “Settle Down” from her album “Vows” which is not yet released in the USA. That didn’t stop the audience from singing along to every word! Kimbra told the crowd how happy she was to be playing for us and the audience more than returned the love. At the beginning of the show, she had to take a puff from her asthma inhaler and she asked the crowd if anyone out there had asthma. A smattering of cheers were heard and Kimbra said “It sucks, doesn’t it,” before launching into another song and singing the hell out of it!
Kimbra
She told the crowd that her album would be released in the USA in May 2012, so get ready America! She closed with a new track called “Come into My Head” which she said would be on the US version of the album. Before she left the stage, the audience sang her Happy Birthday and Kimbra, who lives in Australia now said that she’s having a double birthday because it’s now another day in her home city. Could there be a better way to celebrate your birthday? Doubtful! I chatted with Kimbra after the show and wished her a happy birthday in person. What a sweet lady. I wished her great success and I have no doubt that she will attain it!
See the set list after the jump.
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Posted by The G on March 25, 2012 under Celebrities |
Photo by G.
Elton John!
Reginald Dwight aka Elton John aka The Rocket Man is 65 today!
To celebrate, here’s a list of 65 Elton John songs that I can’t live without (in no particular order):
1. Tonight
2. Who Wears These Shoes?
3. In Neon
4. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
5, Someone Saved My Life Tonight
6. Better Off Dead
7. We All Fall In Love Sometimes/Curtains
8. Skyline Pigeon
9. Wrap Her Up (with George Michael)
10. Your Song
11. Candle In The Wind
12 .Border Song
13. Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
14. Philadelphia Freedom
15. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
16. The One
17. The North
18. Simple Life
19. Solar Prestige A Gammon
20. I’ve Seen The Saucers
21. The Bitch is Back
22. Harmony
23. Take Me To The Pilot
24. Burn Down The Mission
25. Madman Across The Water
26. I Think I’m Gonna Kill Myself
27. Bennie and the Jets
28. Tiny Dancer
29. Levon
30. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
31. Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
32. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
33. Grey Seal
34. I’ve Seen That Movie Too
35. All The Young Girls Love Alice
36. Sad Songs (Say So Much)
37. I Guess that’s Why They Call It The Blues
38. Nikita
39. Sweet Painted Lady
40. Screw You (Young Man’s Blues)
41. Honky Cat
42. Daniel
43. Rocket Man
44. Crocodile Rock
45. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
46. Too Low For Zero
47. Kiss The Bride
48. Blue Eyes
49. I Need You To Turn To
50. Made In England
51. Something About The Way You Look Tonight
52. Sacrifice
53. I Feel Like A Bullet in the Gun of Robert Ford
54. Grow Some Funk On Your Own
55. Act Of War (with Millie Jackson)
56. Believe
57. I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That
58. Club At The End of the Street
59. Sweat It Out
60. Runaway Train (with Eric Clapton)
61. Pinball Wizard
62. Jamaica Jerk Off
63. Roy Rogers
64. Mama Can’t Buy You Love
65. I’m Still Standing
If you don’t know ALL of these songs, do your homework. They are ALL amazing! Happy birthday Elton!
Posted by The G on January 26, 2012 under Celebrities |
Photos by G.
Fruit at the Bottom by Wendy and Lisa (Wendy's on the right)
Happy birthday to two of the most talented sisters in music – Wendy and Susannah Melvoin!
Wendy Melvoin got her start as a member of Prince’s band The Revolution and has gone on to work with Lisa Coleman as the duo Wendy and Lisa. In addition to making great pop music, they have scored a number of films and TV shows and have won lots of awards and critical acclaim for their work.
Susannah Melvoin
Susannah has also worked with Prince and was the inspiration for many of his greatest songs. She’s also written songs for Madonna and is a member of The Family which is currently known as fDeluxe.
The music of Susannah and Wendy Melvoin has made my life a much better place and I wish them both the happiest of birthdays today!
Posted by The G on January 19, 2012 under Celebrities |
Photo by G.
Eric Leeds
Happy birthday to one of the best saxophone players of all time – Eric Leeds. Eric Leeds has played off and on with Prince and Prince’s many protegés since the 1980s and every time he appears on one of the tracks, his solos and accents are often the highlight of the song. He’s also been in Prince’s jazz fusion group Madhouse and if you ever get a chance to track down their albums, your ears will thank you for it. Eric is also a solo artist, having released 3 great records as well and he is currently on tour in fDeluxe (formerly known as The Family) so if you need some funk in our life, check out the music of Eric Leeds. I can’t even count how many hours of my life have been spent listening to Eric’s music both with and without Prince, but I can say – it’s a lot! I thank Eric for always putting my ears in a good mood and I hope you have a very happy birthday!
