Posted by The G on March 21, 2013 under Encounters with G, G Reviews | 
Photos by G.
Sky Ferreira
Sky Ferreira
On March 20, 2013, Sky Ferreira performed a sold out show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. Despite being extremely sick, she made it through her half hour set (which began roughly at 10:20 PM) and performed songs from her new EP “Ghost,” including her viral hit “Everything is Embarrassing.”
Sky Ferreira
There was a smoke machine on stage blowing so much smoke that for a large portion of the 35 minute set, you could barely see the singer. Chances are, you’ll be able to see her better when she performs in the daylight at Coachella next month.
Sky Ferreira
Sky Ferreira
Spotted in the audience was Cole Smith of Diiv.
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Posted by The G on November 13, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Madonna
Oh Madge! Madonna is wrapping up her MDNA world tour with 2 nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden. I attended the first night on November 12, 2012. Luckily I’d gotten the memo that she goes on EXTRA late, so I wasn’t one of the bitter concert goers who arrived when the doors opened at 7 pm, only to have to wait for Madonna to take the stage nearly FOUR hours later. Madonna hit the stage around 10:45 and finished 2 hours later at 12:45 am! I’ve never seen anything end that late at an arena show, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.
Madonna
I enjoyed the Madonna show, but not for the reasons I usually enjoy concerts. Madonna’s show is less of a concert and more of a Broadway-esque spectacle where they just happen to be dancing to Madonna tunes all night. At 54 years old, you’ve got to respect that she’s taken care of her body and she looks great. I am not entirely sure if that’s a reason to strip down to your bra and panties in front of 20,000 people (and with your children present), but I digress.
Madonna
The Madonna show was filled with great dancing, and she seems to have doubled the number of dancers she usually has on stage with her. During any given song, there were great acrobatics and every move was choreographed with precision. There were the usual Madonna-esque “look at how shocking I can be” moments as she toted a fake machine gun, dry humped a bed, the stage floor and many of her dancers, did a strip tease and had visuals of dying babies, poverty and memorials of some people who’ve died of AIDS killed themselves from being bullied playing on screens behind her.
Madonna
There was even a section where Madonna turned her microphone on and talked to the crowd about the recent US Presidential election (and she advised “regardless of your political views, we all need to work together”), the victims of Hurricane Sandy (as she was wearing very little and told the crowd that rather than just stare at her ass when she’s dressed this way, they should throw money at her so she can donate it) and she mentioned that we should be grateful for our freedom because artists like Pussy Riot are not allowed to freely express their opinions. Speaking of Pussy Riot, Madonna was selling “Free Pussy Riot” T-shirts at the concert and I sure hope the moneys from those shirts go to help them instead of going to help the Madonna fund.
Madonna
As Madonna was telling the crowd to be nicer people and to come together as one, I found it hard to keep a straight face (and found it hard to believe SHE could keep a straight face during this segment) because if you’ve ever tried to meet Madonna in person, she’s one of the nastiest celebrities you could ever encounter! Although I’ve been a fan of her since she started (yes, I am THAT old), her “do as I say, not as I do” rhetoric has left me cold and because of all the great experiences I have with so many people who rock my world, I’d rather devote my time, energy and money into the plethora of talented artists who haven’t lost all touch with reality.
Madonna
She performed truncated dance remixes of a lot of her more recent material including “Hung Up” and “Give it 2 Me” as well as a large section of her most recent album MDNA with tracks such as “Gang Bang,” “Gimmie All Your Luvin’,” “Girl Gone Wild,” “Masterpiece,” “Turn up The Radio,” “Love Spent,” “I’m Addicted,” and “I’m A Sinner.” She also revisited a few (literally) of her classic songs in the form of reworked versions of “Like A Virgin” (which sounded like a funeral waltz), “Vogue,” “Open Your Heart,” “Like A Prayer” and “Express Yourself,” which she took her well publicized jab at Lady Gaga by singing the chorus of Gaga’s “Born This Way” over the music of her own track since the two songs sound quite similar.
Madonna
Although she did some serious dancing, Madonna sat down on the job for a nice chunk of the show. She sat on the stage (or laid down on the stage) for many songs and she took some extra breathers as she played her guitar for a couple of tracks. There were the usual multiple outfit changes as her show was divided into sections where they’d play 4 or 5 tracks and the as she was off changing clothes, the show focused on a dancing sequence and video screens showed off new versions of her songs (such as “Justify My Love,” “Nobody Knows Me” and a hits medley).
Madonna
Madonna strutted around a triangle shaped stage and it makes you wonder how many people she has on her crew setting up and tearing down the stage night after night and transporting it to different cities. No matter my opinion of the show, I can’t deny that the logistics are pretty impressive. As Madonna is approaching her mid-50s, it will be interesting to see the next incarnation of her career because you can say a lot of bad things about her, but you cannot deny that she is definitely the Queen of Reinvention.
Madonna
The setlist was:
Gregorian Chant Intro / Girl Gone Wild / Revolver / Gang Bang / Papa Don’t Preach / Hung Up / I Don’t Give A / Best Friend (video segment) / Express Yourself – Born This Way / Gimmie All Your Luvin’ / Hits Medley (video segment) / Turn Up The Radio / Open Your Heart / Masterpiece / Justify My Love (video segment) / Vogue / Candy Shop / Human Nature / Love Spent / Nobody Knows Me (video segment) / I’m Addicted / I’m A Sinner / Like A Prayer / Celebration / Give It 2 Me
Madonna – The Merch
Madonna and Rocco Ritchie
Tags: 2012, Images, Madison Square Garden, Madonna, MDNA, New York, November 12, Photos, Recent Photo, Review, Rocco Ritchie, Set List, Singer, Tour, What Time Does She Go On
Posted by The G on October 21, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Kimbra
2012 is officially the year of Kimbra! In addition to singing on one of the biggest songs of the year (Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”), the New Zealand born singer sold out two nights at New York’s Webster Hall. I attended the second night on October 20, 2012. The show began with a great opening set by Connecticut’s psychedelic pop/rock band The Stepkids. I’ve seen The Stepkids several times before and they get better and better with each performance. They dress all in white and have really amazing visuals projected onto them as they play.
The Stepkids
Both myself and the crowd loved the set and their 2011 debut album “Stones Throw” was ranked in the best albums of the year list by many critics. Vocal duties are shared by Jeff Geitleman (left) and Dan Edinberg (right) and at times, Jeff’s soulful vocals would make D’Angelo proud. You should definitely check out their music as they have a nice mix of rock, soul and psychedelia.
Kimbra
Around 9 pm, the main attraction, Kimbra, took the stage. Dressed in a Gaga-esque outfit (but much more classy), the 22 year old singer belted out tracks from her debut album “Vows.” What a voice! Kimbra doesn’t just sing the tracks, she sings the hell out of them! Her live band turns her studio tracks into full on church anthems and the crows went wild after each song.
Kimbra
Though she didn’t play her duet with Gotye, she sang the majority of her album “Vows” including her off the charts cover of Nina Simone’s “Plain Gold Ring” and “Warrior,” which she collaborated with A-Trak and Foster The People’s Mark Foster for the studio version. She had the crowd singing along to songs such as “Settle Down,” “Cameo Lover” and “Two Way Street.”
Kimbra
If you missed the show, make sure you see Kimbra live. She’s only 22 years old and I can only imagine that she’s going to get better and better as her career skyrockets and I’ve certainly made it a point not to ever skip a Kimbra show. Thanks for a great night!
The setlist was:
Limbo / Posse / Good Intent / Plain Gold Ring (Nina Simone cover) / Two Way Street / Marigold / Old Flame / Warrior / Something in the Way You Are / Settle Down / Cameo Lover / Come Into My Head
Encore: Withdraw / Call Me
Tags: 2012, Band, Dan Edinberg, Images, Jeff Gitelman, Kimbra, New York, October 20, Photo, Review, Set List, the Stepkids, Webster Hall, What Time Does She Go On
Posted by The G on June 8, 2012 under Encounters with G, G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Lana Del Rey on June 7, 2012 at Irving Plaza in New York
The last time Lana Del Rey played New York City, she made headlines across the world with a less than perfect performance on the TV show Saturday Night Live. She had a live performance redemption on June 7, 2012 at Irving Plaza for the first of 3 sold out shows. Lana-be’s (you’re welcome for that word!) from near and far gathered to watch the self-proclaimed “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” perform songs off her excellent album “Born to Die.”
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey took the stage at 10 PM after a tortuous set by the rap group Zebra Katz (who were pelted with ice after singing a nearly 15 minute song that repeated “Imma Read Dat Bitch”). The stage was like a mini jungle as there were trees and plants everywhere! Del Rey was backed by a 5 piece band that included a mini orchestral section (and no drummer).
Lana Del Rey
Lana wasted no time making the crowd freak out in delight as she opened with her mega-hit “Blue Jeans.” The crowd sang along to every word of the song (and nearly every song after). “The Body Electric” made its New York debut next and a video of that song will be coming soon so stay tuned! One of the lyrical highlights of that song is “Jesus is my bestest friend.” She sang the lyric “Let me fuck you hard in the pouring rain” during “Born to Die,” and that got some of the biggest cheers of the night.
Lana Del Rey
Over the course of the next 45 minutes, you could tell Lana is developing a better stage presence and she was showered with love by her fans. During many of the songs, fans held their hands out in hopes of Lana touching them and it reminded me of being at a Morrissey concert (and for those wondering, she obliged as often as possible).
Lana Del Rey
If I were to say something bad about the show (aside from Irving Plaza charging an extra $35 per head for an alleged “VIP section!!!), the downside was that the show only consisted of 10 songs, so many great tracks off “Born to Die” (such as “Radio,” “Off To The Races” and “Diet Mountain Dew”) were not played. It hardly seemed to matter to the legions of Lana-be’s who waited after the show to catch a glimpse of the goddess leaving the venue.
If you’ll recall, I met Lana Del Rey prior to her album being released, and at that time she was extremely nice. Now that she’s even more famous, has the fame gone to her head? The answer and the set list – after the jump.
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Tags: 2012, First Night, Geoffrey Dicker, Images, Irving Plaza, June 7, Lana Del Rey, Lizzie Grant, New York, Photos, Pictures, Review, Set List, What Time Does She Go On
Posted by The G on February 24, 2012 under G Reviews |
Photos by G.
Sinead O' Connor
On February 23, 2012, Sinead O’Connor played her first of two sold out shows at New York’s Highline Ballroom. She’s in town promoting her new album “How About I Be Me (And You Be You)” which she joked could also be called “How About I Be Me (And You Fuck Off)” in reference to her recent tabloid-esque life where she got married and divorced and reconciled quicker than I can type this sentence. The packed house also had some stars in the audience including former REM lead singer Michael Stipe, The Smiths’ Andy Rourke and singer Jay Brannan. What we witnessed and heard was the unmistakable voice that belongs to Sinead O’Connor. There’s no question that watching her perform is nothing short of amazing and it makes you realize that the world should really focus on her talent instead of her personal life.
Sinead O' Connor
There were times when it sounded as if Sinead might be recovering from a cold, but when she hit the notes (which was often), it brought the house down. She joked in between many songs about her life and mentioned how great it is to be playing for us. The crowd returned the love and lots of shushing was going on when anyone dared speak while Sinead serenaded us. After many songs, thunderous applause and people shouting out “Thank you, Sinead!” filled the room. She dedicated the Prince classic “Nothing Compares 2 U” to her kids and said afterwards that her manager calls the song “Nothing Compares 2 U Bastard.” While she focused a lot on the new album, she also played classics such as “Emperor’s New Clothes” and “Jackie.” The show started just before 9 PM and she played for close to two hours.
Sinead O' Connor
See the set list after the jump.
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