Posted by The G on September 23, 2011 under G Reviews | 
Photos by G.
Christopher Owens of Girls
If you want to take bets on an album that is sure to wind up on a lot of year end best lists, I think it’s safe to say you’ll be seeing “Father, Son, Holy Ghost” by Girls making these lists. The San Francisco based band played their first of two sold out shows at New York’s Bowery Ballroom on September 22, 2011. The show began at 9 pm with great sets from Papa (of which the lead singer – who is also the drummer - and guitarist are also in Girls) and punk band Nobunny at 10 pm. Girls hit the stage just around 11 pm. If you haven’t heard Girls before, their music has elements of surf rock, folk and pop. Their songs are extremely catchy even though they have titles like “Vomit” and “Die.” Lead singer Christopher Owens looks like a cross between Macauley Culkin and Kurt Cobain. His voice is mellow and his lyrics are great.
Girls
The audience loved every second of the nearly 2 hour show and it’s clear when the band comes back through town, they’ll be playing at much larger venues. I spoke with lead singer Christopher Owens backstage after the show and he was extremely cool. He was pretty shy, as one would expect from the gorgeous yet sad lyrics he writes. Before the night was over, I was at the merch table getting both of their albums and Girls’ EP. I am looking forward to getting to know their music better and I think if you give them a shot, you will too.
See the set list as well as a photo of Christopher Owens and myself after the jump.
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Tags: Band, Bowery Ballroom, Christopher Owens, Father Son Holy Ghost, Girls, Lead Singer, New York, Photos, Review, Set List, What Time Do They Go On
Posted by The G on May 9, 2011 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Paul Banks of Interpol
I have a massive band crush on Interpol. I love their music, they are great in concert, I’ve had 3 really positive experiences meeting the band and tonight, they rocked and raised money for a great cause. Dubbed the “Sickday Fuzzy Sock Hop,” to raise money for the Sickday Safety Net organization, Interpol and Blonde Redhead played a sold out show at New York’s Terminal 5 on May 8, 2011. Before you read on about the show, please have a look at the Sickday Safety Net site – especially if you are one of the many New Yorkers without health insurance. And now, on with the show. Interpol hit the stage at 9:30 and played for a little over an hour and a half. This was the last night of their nearly year long tour and they announced many times how happy they were to be home. The only two songs I can think of that were surprise omissions were “Stella Was A Diver and She’s Always Down” and “Barricade,” but in place of those songs, we heard “Mammoth,” “Rest My Chemistry,” “The Lighthouse” and B-side “Specialist” from the very early days of the band. Some of the highlights for me were “Not Even Jail,” “Obstacle 1,” “Evil” and “Narc.” “Say Hello To The Angels,” was another crowd favorite and a video will be coming soon so stay tuned.
Paul Banks of Interpol
See the set list as well as the Fuzzy Sock Hop poster after the jump.
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Tags: 2011, Band, Benefit, Final Show of the Tour, Fuzzy Sock Hop, Images, Interpol, Lead Singer, May 8, Mother's Day, New York, Paul Banks, Photos, Poster, Review, Set List, Sickday, Terminal 5, What Time Do They Go On
Posted by The G on November 19, 2010 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Tame Impala
I love Tame Impala! I’ve been wanting to see the Australian psychedelic rockers perform live for a while. I’ve been listening to their album “Innerspeaker” all summer and I love it. If you haven’t heard their music, I highly encourage it. It’s definitely got a Beatles meets MGMT sound, and according2g, that’s wonderful. Speaking of MGMT, lead singer Andrew VanWyngarden was checking out Tame Impala’s sold out show, the first of 2 nights, at Bowery Ballroom on November 18, 2010. (see a picture of Andrew after the jump). The show began at 9 pm with sets by Kuroma and Stardeath and White Dwarfs (more on both bands coming soon) and Tame Impala took the stage just after 11 pm.
Kevin Parker of Tame Impala
Lead singer Kevin Parker apologized to the crowd for feeling a bit under the weather, but you couldn’t tell from the powerful 70 minute performance that Tame Impala delivered to the adoring crowd. In addition to sounding great, Tame Impala had a really cool projection screen behind them and even if you weren’t feeling the music (but everyone was), you could get lost in the trippy visuals. Speaking of tripping, lots of people were smoking copious amounts of pot during the show and I saw at least 5 people get kicked out of the venue. I read that Tame Impala often covers “Angel” by Massive Attack in their live set, but they didn’t do it tonight. I can imagine it sounding really cool as their live performance is extremely psychedelic. Their show at Bowery Ballroom on November 19, is sold out, which is a pity if you don’t have tickets because I think the next time they come around, they are going to be playing a much larger venue. A video of “Solitude is Bliss” will be coming soon as well as a photo with of my encounter with Kevin Parker. Please be patient. I am merely one person with tons of experiences.
See a few more pictures (including one of Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT) and the set list after the jump.
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Tags: 2010, Andrew VanWyngarden, Bowery Ballroom, Images, Kevin Parker, Lead Singer, MGMT, New York, November 18, Photos, Review, Set List, Tame Impala, What Time Do They Go On
Posted by The G on November 2, 2010 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine
Blog confession: I know that Florence and the Machine are the new “it” band. They’ve won a lot of awards, they are internet darlings and word of mouth is basically summed up with “oh my god, they amazing!” That was enough to get me to the show not having heard a note of their music until they walked onto the stage of Terminal 5 in New York on November 1 (at 9:10 pm, for those attending the show on November 2, 2010). I am so glad I had this experience! Florence Welch sounds like a cross between Siouxsie Sioux and Stevie Nicks! WHOA!!!
I lost count after 4 times where Florence Welch thanked New York for such a wonderful reception and she said it over and over again how happy she was to be playing for us. Her voice is powerful and yet has a whimsical quality to it. It was so cute to hear the graciousness in her voice thanking the crowd and then seconds later, as she launched into a song, she was in “the zone” of “powerful rock goddess.” I thought she was really great.
She played tracks such as “Howl,” “You Got The Love,” and “Lungs” and also treated the crowd to the New York live premiere of the song “Strangeness and Charm.” A video of that song will be coming soon, so stay tuned. Florence and the Machine is playing Terminal 5 on November 2, 2010 and here are my suggestions – GO SEE HER and skip opening act Smith Westerns. They were horrible!
Another image of Florence as well as the set list can be seen after the jump.
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Tags: 2010, Florence and the Machine, Florence Welch, Images, New York, November 1, Picture, Review, Setlist, Terminal 5, What Time Do They Go On
Posted by The G on October 22, 2010 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Robert Del Naja aka 3D of Massive Attack
I saw Massive Attack live for the first time earlier this year and I loved every second of it. After seeing them perform at the Beacon Theatre on October 21, 2010, I can honestly say that my opinion has not changed – they are so incredible live! The stage setup was nearly identical to when I saw them at Terminal 5, but the major differences are the Beacon has assigned seating whereas Terminal 5 is general admission. The night kicked off with an hour and a half tribal set from Thievery Corporation (more to come) and when Massive Attack took the stage around 11 pm, the crowd was ready to jam. Massive Attack’s light show got better by the song as more colors were introduced, more lights were used and the patterns the lights were making was enough to induce a hallucinogenic state! It also made me happy that Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja turned up to the gig since I gave him directions yesterday and anyone that knows me can vouch for my terrible sense of direction.
Martina Topley-Bird
The entire evening was a highlight, but for the people that like to hear the hits, “Angel,” “Tear Drop,” and “Interia Creeps” were all played. Surprisingly absent were “Karmacoma” and “Unfinished Sympathy,” but good news, they are playing the Beacon Theatre again on October 23, 2010, so if you missed the show tonight – cancel your plans and go see them!
Daddy G
See the setlist, after the jump.
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Tags: Band, Beacon Theater, Daddy G, Images, Martina Topley-Bird, Massive Attack, New York, October 21 2010, Photos, Pictures, Review, Robert Del Naja, Setlist, What Time Do They Go On
