Posted by The G on January 23, 2012 under Encounters with G, G Reviews | 
Photos by G.
Humpty Hump (aka Shock G aka Greg Jacobs) of Digital Underground
I’ve loved rap group Digital Underground for 20 years! They played a concert at New York’s BB King’s on January 22, 2012 and I was there to catch all the action. Original members Shock G (aka Humpty Hump) and Money B brought the funk! Flowing as great today as they did back in the day, Digital Underground opened the show with “Packet Man” from their amazing debut “Sex Packets.” Early on in the show, huge singles from DU including “The Humpty Dance,” “Kiss You Back” and “Same Song” were played. For the late 2Pac’s verse on “Same Song,” an audience member rocked the mic. Shock G started off the show dressed as Humpty Hump with fake nose and goofy voice.
Money B of Digital Underground
After a few songs, he introduced his alter ego – Shock G and continued rapping to songs such as “Freaks of The Industry,” “Sex Packets,” “Underwater Rhymes,” and even threw in the verse that Digital Underground raps in the 90s charity single “We’re All In The Same Gang.” “I Get Around” by 2Pac was also played as a tribute to the late rapper who got his start as a member of Digital Underground. “I Got 5 On It” by Luniz was also played as a tribute to the absent rapper and Shock G mentioned that he’s got 2 and a half more years of a jail term to serve before he’s released. The song “Doowutchyalike” was not played, which was a big hit for the group, but it mattered not because after the show was over, Shock G bought a round of tequila shots for those of us that hung around after the concert to get our buzz on how we like!
Shock G of Digital Underground
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Tags: 2012, 2Pac, BB King's, Digital Underground, Greg Jacobs, Humpty Dance, Images, Money B, New York, Photos, Recent Picture, Review, Set List, Shock G
Posted by The G on January 22, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
David Best of Fujiya and Miyagi
On January 21, 2012, British electronic band Fujiya and Miyagi played a sold out show at New York’s Mercury Lounge. If you are unfamiliar with the music of Fujiya and Miyagi, here’s a brief primer: the band gets their name from a brand of record player as well as a character in the film “The Karate Kid.” They’ve been around since the early 2000s and their music features playful lyrics over delicious electronic grooves. Their songs are all mid- to up-tempo and they’ve mastered the art of moving on to the next song before the groove has a chance to get boring. What you will find in Fujiya and Miyagi’s music are carefully constructed 3 to 4 minute tracks with a bass line and a beat that will definitely get you in the dancing mood. Taking that formula to the live stage made for a great night as the audience got a chance to dethaw from the first New York snow storm of 2012 in an all out dance party. Fujiya and Miyagi played a generous helping of tracks from their 2011 album “Ventrilloquizzing” with songs such as “Cat Got Your Tongue,” “YoYo,” “16 Shades of Black and Blue” and “Minestrone.” Fan favorites such as “Uh” and “Knickerbocker” were also played as well as “Ankle Injuries” which features the band shouting out “Fujiya and Miyagi” at the end of the song. What a fun night! Thanks to F&M!
See the setlist after the jump.
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Tags: 2012, Band Members, David Best, Fujiya and Miyagi, Geoffrey Dicker, January 21, Matt Hainsby, Mercury Lounge, New York, Photos, Review, Set List, Steve Lewis
Posted by The G on January 21, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
John Gourley of Portugal. The Man
On January 20, 2012, Alaska’s Portugal. The Man played a sold out show at the Brooklyn Bowl in New York. The show was a warm up gig for Portugal. The Man’s upcoming European tour and it rocked! If you are unfamiliar with their music, it’s psychedelic pop/rock (think MGMT meets Of Montreal – with less meandering). Trippy lighting accompanied the music and early into the set, covers of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” and Bowie’s “All The Young Dudes” were played. The band also played the majority of songs from their 2011 album “In The Mountain In The Cloud.” Many of the songs were crowd sing-a-longs and it was fun watching everyone sing with lead singer John Gourley on tracks such as “So American” and “Sleep Forever.”
Portugal. The Man
Their career has been a slow build, but I think the world is finally starting to recognize the talents of Portugal. The Man and I expect to continue hearing bigger and better things from the Alaskan quartet. See the setlist after the jump.
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Posted by The G on January 20, 2012 under Encounters with G, G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Ted Leo
On January 19, 2012, Punk legend Ted Leo made a guest appearance at The Rejection Show at Littlefield in Brooklyn. The concept of The Rejection Show is pure genius – comedians and singers finally get a chance to play material in front of a live audience that has been cut from their act. Occasionally, the cut material deals with rejection too, which just adds to the hilarity of the program. This was my first experience at The Rejection Show and I definitely want to go back. Some of the rejected ideas and concepts presented were side-splittingly funny like a fake band idea called “Banter,” where the band didn’t play songs on stage, but instead they just told preposterous stories to the crowd instead of playing songs.
Ted Leo
Ted Leo joined in on the fun to perform songs from his unreleased musical about the Banana Trade. The musical was in pre-production when its producer disappeared and never got in touch with Ted Leo again, save for a cryptic email that Leo received several years later. The original version of Ted Leo’s track “Bomb.Repeat.Bomb” was supposed to be in the musical, but when the concept got scrapped, Ted Leo repurposed the song for his album “Living With The Living.” It was a great night of music, laughter and comedy so I recommend checking out The Rejection Show.
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Posted by The G on January 19, 2012 under G Interviews, Street Art |
Photos courtesy of Smear.
Cristian Gheorghiu aka Smear started off as a street artist in Los Angeles. He quickly became one of the most prolific artists on the scene. He successfully made the transition from the streets to galleries and then he got busted by the police, years after he stopped doing street art! The arrest made headlines across the country, but the full story was never revealed – until now. Your opinion on the legality of street art might be mixed, but one thing is sure, when you find out what happened to Smear, you’ll definitely agree that there is a major problem with our justice system. I’d like to thank Smear for his honesty and for opening up to tell his side of the story. Please note new readers, there is some rather harsh language so if that kind of thing offends you, perhaps you won’t want to keep reading. With the fact that you are on this site, you’ll already know that I use harsh language a lot and while the internet is still unregulated, you won’t see censorship here. I am not even fond of putting any type of disclaimer on this site, but you never know who is reading – so please take that under advisement before you continue.
Flashbacks by Smear
According2G: Tell us about your background. How did you get involved in Street Art?
Smear: I’ve been scribbling on things out in the streets since I was 13. I started up and down my block in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles and pretty much kept at it since then. Eventually it lead me to this thing that has been dubbed “street art.” For the record, I have not comitted an act of graffiti or “street art” since very early in 2007 (you never know who is going to read this interview).
Another Hot LA Summer by Smear
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