Posted by The G on April 26, 2012 under G Reviews | 
Photos by G.
Chris Glover of Penguin Prison
On April 25, 2012, New York was treated to a double bill of great dance music as Penguin Prison and Miike Snow played their second of three sold out shows at Terminal 5. I’ve seen Penguin Prison perform quite a few times and to date, this is the largest venue I’ve seen them play. It worked perfectly to see close to 3,000 people shaking their bodies to the infectious dance pop of Penguin Prison’s music. Despite a photographer pit and a huge barricade, lead singer Chris Glover still found a way to jump into the crowd and dance with the audience. One of the highlights for me was their cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Blue Jeans,” of which Penguin Prison recently remixed. The track got no introduction and when the lyrics began, you could hear the audience squeal with delight. Hearing 3,000 people shout out “Don’t Fuck With My Money” was also one of the pinnacles of the night. For those attending tonight’s 3rd and final night, the show begins promptly at 8:00 PM, so don’t miss Penguin Prison’s set!
Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow
An hour and a half later at 9:30 PM, Miike Snow took the stage. They must have taken my suggestion from their previous tour, which consisted of nearly the same light display for the duration of the show, as each song had a different and even more wild light show than the previous track. Like their last tour, the band emerged from behind a smoke machine wearing masks. They removed the masks after the first song and the audience was loving every second of it. Lead singer Andrew Wyatt moved all over the stage and often sang at a keyboard towards the rear of the stage. In the center of the stage, there was huge pod-like device that had lights, keyboards and a projector contained within it (see photo below). I’ve never seen anything like that before. Highlights of the show were the excellent new songs “Paddling Out,” (of which Penguin Prison recently remixed and is great) as well as “Devil’s Work.” Classics from their debut album such as “Sylvia,” “Animal” and “Sans Soleil” were also played.
Miike Snow - Terminal 5
Thanks to Penguin Prison and Miike Snow for a great night of lights and dancing!
See both set lists after the jump.
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Tags: 2012, Andrew Wyatt, April 25, Band, Chris Glover, Lead Singer, Miike Snow, Penguin Prison, Photos, Review, Set List, Terminal 5, What Time Do They Go On
Posted by The G on April 12, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Jarvis Cocker of Pulp
Pulp. Radio City Music Hall. April 11, 2012. Epic! Wow! I haven’t had this much fun at a show in a long time. It’s been 14 years since British rockers Pulp have played in New York and it’s been worth the wait. Playing their second of 2 sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall, the 2 hour set was a non-stop party of great songs, lights, rock and roll, hilarious anecdotes from lead singer Jarvis Cocker, crowd sing-a-longs and fun times!
Pulp!
The show began just before 9 PM with laser projected statements not unlike those found in the liner notes of Pulp albums. Questions like “Are you ready?” “Are you sure?” and “Do You Remember The First Time?” flashed across Radio City Music Hall and then the band launched into “Do You Remember The First Time?” What a great way to open the show! Between every single song, lead singer Jarvis Cocker told funny anecdotes about songs (including a chat about astrology – he’s a fellow Virgo as well), and called our crowd “the hardcore fans” as this was initially the first Pulp show in New York, but a second night was added due to ticket demand. That show ended up becoming the first night due to scheduling issues with the venue.
Pulp
During tracks like the ode-to -taking-drugs-at-a-festival song “Sorted For E’s and Wizz,” a very trippy laser light show was being projected throughout Radio City Music Hall and I think the laser lights could have been seen from the bathrooms at Radio City! The band utilized great lighting throughout the show from neon letters that spelled out “P-U-L-P” (see photo above), had screens behind the band that showed all kinds of cool and colorful visuals and during the song “I Spy,” Jarvis Cocker had some sort of device that he shined at the audience and it projected his camera onto the overhead screens.
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Tags: 2012, April 11, Images, Jarvis Cocker, Live, New York, Photos, Pulp, Radio City Music Hall, Review, Set List, What Time Do They Go On
Posted by The G on February 29, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth
Van Halen! The rockers performed a sold out show at New York’s Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2012. The show began at 7:30 with one of the oddest pairings for an opening act that I’ve ever seen – Kool and the Gang. While they sounded great, it was definitely the wrong vibe to establish before watching a rock and roll concert. For those wondering, Kool and the Gang performed Jungle Boogie, Ladies Night, Fresh, Emergency and Celebration during their 45 minute set. Van Halen took the stage around 8:50 (instead of the posted time of 9 PM) and had the crowd on their feet for the entire show, which is an accomplishment not all bands playing the same venue can make happen.
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is back as lead singer after a long absence and it was great to see him strutting his stuff on stage. He sparingly did his signature high kick in the air, but he can still do it and Van Halen can still rock. We’ve all gotten used to their songs as part of our lives, but when you hear these songs performed by the band that wrote them as 20,000 people sing along is a pretty cool thing. The show brought out the inner rock-star geek in all of us and you could see people playing air guitar throughout the arena. Drummer Alex Van Halen and guitar god Eddie Van Halen each did 5 minute solos and they are both still so incredible! They made their intricate playing look effortless and the crowd loved every second of it.
Alex Van Halen
The band played a lot of new material off 2012′s “A Different Kind of Truth,” including the first single “Tattoo.” Though the songs sounded pretty good in an arena setting, the material breaks no new ground and probably does not work as well in the iPod generation. But aside from the new songs, Van Halen played pretty much every hit (from the David Lee Roth era) that you could hope to hear including their famous cover of Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Ain’t ‘Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Hot For Teacher,” “Panama,” “I’ll Wait,” “Jump,” and “Running With The Devil.”
Wolfgang Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen
David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen appeared to be having a great time on stage and DLR’s on-stage banter to the crowd seemed unscripted and at times rambling causing Eddie Van Halen to fall out laughing several times. If there are still tensions in the band, they disguised them pretty well and they showed no signs of slowing down. Instead of leaving the stage and coming back for an encore, the band never left the stage and concluded their nearly 2 hour set with the 1984 classic “Jump.” As of press time, we don’t know what the future of Van Halen will be, so if you enjoy their music, you’d better check them out on this tour. It’ll be worth it!
See the setlist after the jump.
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Tags: 2011, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Different Kind of Truth Tour, Eddie Van Halen, February 28, New York, Photos, Review, Set List, Van Halen, What Time Do They Go On, Wolfgang Van Halen
Posted by The G on November 3, 2011 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Jonny Pierce of The Drums
November 2, 2011 was a great day! In the same night, I got to go to my two favorite venues in New York City: Mercury Lounge (for the early show to see VV Brown) and Bowery Ballroom to see The Drums (who went on around 11 PM, for those seeing them later this week). I saw The Drums a year ago as part of CMJ and I loved their show a lot. There have been some personnel changes within the band and whoever said “change is good” sure knows what they are talking about. The Drums added a new bass player, switched drummer Connor Hanwick to guitar and added a new drummer. I think The Drums sound better than ever and in fact, the live versions of the songs they played from their albums “the Drums” and “Portamento” sounded better to me than the studio versions. It was as if the band grew into these songs and each track was stronger, punchier and more dance-oriented than the album versions (read: please release a live album!)
The Drums
Lead singer Jonny Pierce’s stage presence last night was reminiscent of the glory days of Morrissey as he swayed to the beat and delivered his moody, but brilliant lyrics about breaking up, money and death. Pierce told the crowd that the band is winding down from their North American tour before playing the non-album track “I Felt Stupid.” Other highlights included great versions of their “Portamento” songs “Money,” “I Need a Doctor” and “If He Likes It Let Him Do It.” The crowd of course lost their minds during songs such as “it Will All End In Tears,” “The Future” and “Best Friend,” which Jonny Pierce dedicated to his dead best friend. The Drums are playing a few shows this week, but they are all sold out so do what you need to do and see them!
See the set list after the jump.
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Tags: 2011, Bowery Ballroom, Jonny Pierce, Lead Singer, New York, November 2, Photos, Portamento, Review, Set List, The Drums, Tour, What Time Do They Go On
Posted by The G on October 26, 2011 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
From left: John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon LeBon of Duran Duran
Duran Duran! The fab four (formerly five, but Andy Taylor is no longer with the band) made their long awaited return to New York with a show at Madison Square Garden on October 25, 2011. After an enthusiastic set from Neon Trees, Duran Duran took the stage at 8:30 PM. For nearly two solid hours, Duran Duran played so many songs that cemented their place in music history such as “Planet Earth,” “Hungry Like The Wolf,” “Rio,” “The Reflex,” “Is there Something I Should Know,” “Ordinary World,” “Come Undone,” and “Notorious.” As you can imagine, an arena full of people singing and dancing along to all of those songs is a guaranteed great time. But it was not all hits, many songs from Duran Duran’s latest album “All You Need Is Now,” their best album in years, made their New York live debut tonight.
Simon LeBon
The title track from the album as well as my favorite “The Man Who Stole A Leopard” were played as well as their new single “Leave a Light On.” Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters guested on stage to sing on “Safe” as she does on the album and the album’s producer, Mark Ronson played guitar on their new classic “Girl Panic.” There were some visuals projected on the screens behind the band, but who needs theatrics when you’ve got such a great catalog of songs? During one of the encores, “Wild Boys,” the band broke into another 1980s classic, Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax,” which was a nice, if odd, surprise. Aside from “Careless Memories” and the instrumental “Tiger Tiger,” Duran Duran didn’t get into obscure songs and instead stuck mostly with big hits and new songs.
Nick Rhodes, John Taylor of Duran Duran
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Duran Duran and I did not leave without a smile on my face. If you haven’t heard their latest album “All You Need is Now,” you should check it out because producer Mark Ronson got Duran Duran to return to their classic sound that made them so popular nearly 30 years ago! 30 years ago?! Wow. Where does the time go? It was interesting (and slightly depressing) to see that the crowd have traded in their 80s fashions for khakis, but what can you do? Because I love Mark Ronson and Ana Matronic, I’ll be posting videos of “Girl Panic,” and “Safe” soon, so stick around for that.
See the setlist and a couple more pix (including Roger Taylor) after the jump.
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Tags: "All You Need Is Now", 2011, Ana Matronic, Duran Duran, Images, John Tayor, Live, Madison Square Garden, Mark Ronson, New York, Nick Rhodes, October 25, Photo, Photos, Review, Roger Taylor, Set List, Simon LeBon, What Time Do They Go On
