Tag: New York City

Blur 10/23/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

  1. Go Out
  2. There’s No Other Way
  3. Lonesome Street
  4. Badhead
  5. End of a Century
  6. Ghost Ship
  7. Coffee & TV
  8. Out of Time
  9. Country Sad Ballad Man
  10. Beetlebum
  11. Thought I Was a Spaceman
  12. Trimm Trabb
  13. Tender
  14. Parklife
  15. Song 2
  16. To The End
  17. This Is a Low

Encore:

  1. Stereotypes
  2. Girls & Boys
  3. For Tomorrow
  4. The Universal

(b) highlights

  • dude!!! BLUR!!!!
  • in the 4th row of the pit at a sold-out Madison Square Garden – only the second time in the band’s career playing = AMAZING
  • this was easily one of the best shows of 2015, probably in the top 10 ever – the crowd was unbelievable (perhaps the best I ever witnessed in the Garden), the set was unrelentingly phenomenal, Damon Albarn was TOP NOTCH, and seriously everything about it was the highest of levels
  • the band management (presumably) had been going through the crowd and pulling out the people having the best time and brought them all on-stage for “Parklife”; Damon let this super cool 17-ish-year-old black chick do the talking parts of the song and she straight up KILLED IT – everyone was cheering her along and Damon was definitely impressed, even hugging her at the end of it
  • it was one of those strangely perfect shows where it honestly felt like every single person around me knew every song
  • I feel like the pictures I took were most indicative of the performance – crazy water everywhere, blurred (ha) faces in the crowd, awesome lighting – all of it
  • the massive crowd singalong during “Tender” was truly one of the most moving moments in recent concert memory; it’s not something I’ll forget for a very long time

(c) lowlights

  • this really isn’t a bad thing but a douchebag in the pit literally dumped his entire cup of beer right on Damon like three songs in; Damon laughed and kept going, but like what???? I would’ve been piiiiiissed if it was me

(d) overall thoughts

One of the best shows of 2015. Hands down. Perhaps one of the best shows I’ve ever gone to in my life. I’ve been a fan of Blur for awhile – I discovered them about the same time I found Oasis…and I actually always preferred Oasis. Regardless, I’ve thought Blur was awesome and their last album, The Magic Whip, was one of the best of their career, so there was no way I was gonna miss this show. My friends are also massive Blur fans – perhaps even more so than me, so we knew this show was gonna be special.

Somewhere around “There’s No Other Way” I realized this show was gonna be one for the books. Damon, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree were all in top freaking form – it was especially great to watch Graham all night. Damon frequently came up to the crowd and interacted, whether taking people’s hands or gifts (a packet of stickers I believe was one?). It felt like the entire crowd – both in the pit and in the seats – was so incredibly present for nearly every song. One of my favorite moments ever was a near-acoustic singalong to “Tender,” a truly beautiful song that I swear transcended that entire goddamn venue. Watching members of the crowd – clearly huge Blur fans – join the band on-stage to sing one of the ultimate classic tracks of all time “Parklife” made me so, so happy.

The encore, especially “Girls & Boys,” was just so joyful, it was impossible to feel any more elated. You know a show is next-level when people around you are stepping outside of themselves and the performance before them to say aloud, “Wow, this show is amazing.” Those are my favorite moments, and this show was chock-full of them.

Bottom line: Blur are some of the best performers I’ve ever seen, and there was something seriously special about this Madison Square Garden performance; this one is one for the books.

Joywave 10/20/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

  1. Destruction
  2. Carry Me
  3. In Clover
  4. Feels Like a Lie
  5. True Grit
  6. Now
  7. Don’t Let It Bring You Down (Neil Young cover)
  8. Nice House
  9. Golden State
  10. Ridge
  11. Parade
  12. Traveling at the Speed of Light
  13. Bad Dreams (w/ Mikaela Davis on harp lead-in instrumental)
  14. Somebody New
  15. Life in a Bubble I Blew
  16. Tongues
  17. Destruction

(b) highlights

  • this felt like perhaps the first Joywave headlining show where they really got to dictate the show; they weren’t opening for anyone, they were fully independent and self-sufficiently awesome
  • they played “Golden State”!! it’s my favorite deep cut from their first EP Koda Vista and I was beyond psyched to see that live
  • the crowd was surprisingly into it the entire time, regardless of being overwhelmingly male – a fact true only for this particular Joywave show, I’ve found
  • loved that the band mentioned having extra money in their budget from the label, which led to them purchasing like a 10-foot tall blow-up replica of their keyboardist Ben Bailey – classiccccc
  • the band did the classic Joywave move of playing only half of “Tongues” before jumping into a second performance of “Destruction” – alright, alright you got me

(c) lowlights

  • could we have at least finished “Tongues” before going into “Destruction” twice? yes, yes we could have

(d) overall thoughts

Undeniably, this show was fun from beginning to end. It truly felt like Joywave was throwing a party and invited all their best friends to hang out. Their CultCo labelmates Kopps opened and they, like Joywave, are fun but in a strangely unique way. My friends and I were in the front row and the night was very much an intimate celebration of Joywave’s success.

The high-energy set kept the room consistently alive as the band relentlessly drove through both the newer hits and the older deep cuts. The band’s self-aware banter and aggressive dancing felt refreshing and exciting, like we were all apart of the band’s growing history. They’re very much a band that understands the notion of performance; every show feels like you’re watching them at a very timely and important moment in their career. It feels like they’re honestly on the verge of blowing up in the music world in a real way. I hope that happens – not only to feel like I was part of a band’s rise but really because they deserve it. Joywave works hard to win audience’s over and I’ll always appreciate that.

As previously mentioned, in classic Joywave manner, the band stopped probably their biggest hit to date, “Tongues” and ended the set with a second performance of “Destruction.” It was funny, I appreciated the sentiment, and it was additionally super cool that that performance ended being heavily featured in their tour music video for “Destruction” (which my friends and I are in!), but…I really wanted to hear all of “Tongues,” guys! Ah, well.

Bottom line: Joywave are fun and talented, and damn, do they know it. They screw around with the crowd at the crowd’s expense quite a bit, but I appreciate that they take risks and never, never bore me.

Joywave 10/13/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

  1. Destruction
  2. Carry Me
  3. In Clover
  4. Feels Like a Lie
  5. Now
  6. Nice House
  7. Parade
  8. Traveling at the Speed of Light
  9. Bad Dreams

Encore:

  1. Somebody New
  2. Tongues

(b) highlights

  • this was a CMJ Festival show and the lineup was pretty good – I love going to this fest every fall in New York; it’s really not something to be missed
  • loved the setlist – at this point, the band felt the most full-bodied they’d ever been
  • really solid crowd interaction throughout
  • nabbed the setlist at the end of the show, which was cool – it still hangs in my bedroom today
  • I know some acts would disagree with me, I genuinely like Brooklyn Bowl as a concert venue – yeah so people are bowling like 20 feet away, but isn’t that sort of DIY awesome? (yeah, it’s not DIY at all and very ‘Brooklyn’ but whatever)

(c) lowlights

  • nothing comes to mind

(d) overall thoughts

The CMJ Festival is a cool, week-long shindig that takes places in and around various venues across NYC and Brooklyn in October. Super small and local bands will play, but bigger acts as well. I was super happy to hear Joywave would be headlining that night – their agency was putting on a last-minute event with them at the top of the bill and I was so into it.

I had seen Joywave many times before this, but this was the most present and confident they had felt to me. It was right around this time that “Somebody New” and its accompanying music video came out, and they were gaining more and more traction following the heels of “Tongues” and its success. Their growing popularity made them better performers, yes, but it also brought a bit of self-importance. They’re strangely self-aware of that self-importance, which makes the whole meta-awareness of their band more interesting, but also more complicated. Anyone who has experienced their social media or live show would probably confirm having a similar experience of the band.

Regardless of any of that, the band killed, the crowd was into it, and I didn’t mind too much that they seem to simultaneously actively dislike their own audience while also wanting our approval. I think Joywave makes solid, interesting, and memorable music and I’m eager to hear anything new they come out with soon.

 

Bottom line: Joywave is fun, CMJ shows are always a neat look into where the music scene might be heading in the future, and there’s nothing wrong with playing a rock show next to people bowling, okay.

Other Lives 10/10/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

Act 1: Desert

  1. New Fog
  2. Tamer Animals
  3. Desert
  4. No Trouble
  5. As I Lay My Head Down
  6. Dark Horse
  7. Easy Way Out

Act 2: Dustbowl

  1. Dustbowl III
  2. Weather
  3. Landforms
  4. For 12
  5. For the Last
  6. Need a Line

Act 3: Space

  1. 2 Pyramids
  2. Pattern
  3. Untitled
  4. Black Tables
  5. Reconfiguration
  6. Ritual

(b) highlights

  • the whole conception of the show was freaking cool – BAM is a bomb ass venue and I wish more bands did exactly what Other Lives did with this performance
  • cannot underscore enough how awesome the visuals were
  • the acoustics of the venue were out of control great
  • Other Lives’ material was perfectly intertwined with the stage production; such a beautiful experience

(c) lowlights

  • none – it was amazing

(d) overall thoughts

Other Lives are a freaking cool band and, somehow, they put on a full-stage production of their entire discography at BAM, aka the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which is a gorgeous seated theatre. I’m not sure how the band decided to put together this performance, but thematically, it allowed them to pay tribute to their vast collection of music and tell a visual narrative that was equal parts moving and entertaining.

The show began with a desert theme – an idea I’ve always connected to, being from the west coast – and the stage production depicted this so well. With sandy dunes and setting suns, the stage had physical moving parts that really brought the music alive. I’ve always greatly appreciated Other Lives’ use of strings and horns, but their display here really brought their quintessential sound to the next level. I didn’t even mind that we were all sitting for it. It still worked.

The Dustbowl act was really cool too, because I know the band is from Oklahoma, so it felt like getting a unique insight into their home in a Steinbeck-by-way-of-Brooklyn sort of way. The final act devoted to other worldly space was exceptionally beautiful and really wrapped up the narrative nicely. The whole show was so beautiful and difficult to explain, but I think the best experiences are sometimes.

Bottom line: Other Lives put on one of the most unique and beautiful performances I’d ever seen; it desperately made me wish more bands combined their music with traditional theatre and stage productions. It was quite unforgettable.

otherlivesdavidgaume
Photo by David Guame

otherlivesnyt
Photo by the New York Times

otherlivesvillagevoice
Photo by Village Voice

 

The Cribs 9/22/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

    1. Mirror Kissers
    2. Different Angle
    3. Come On, Be a No-One
    4. An Ivory Hand
    5. You Were Always The One
    6. Another Number
    7. Our Bovine Public
    8. Moving Pictures
    9. Back to the Bolthole
    10. Hey Scenesters!
    11. Anna
    12. Burning For No-One
    13. Be Safe
    14. Summer of Chances
    15. I’m a Realist
    16. Men’s Needs
    17. Pink Snow

(b) highlights

  • dude, they played “Be Safe”!!! how cool is that?? such a unique and different type of track, I never thought I’d see them play that one
  • I don’t remember if it was Gary or Ryan, but one of them had just broken a part of his hand that required him to be on painkillers all night which made for EXCELLENT stage banter
  • It was Ross’ birthday, so the whole crowd sang for him, which was cute

(c) lowlights

  • Brooklyn crowds are the WORSTTTTTT
  • this dumb as nails 17-year-old boy ran on-stage only to jump off into the crowd except he didn’t fall into the crowd, he just fell on ME and knocked my glasses off and the entire affair ended with me yelling at an underage boy, “I WILL MURDER YOU”
  • the Music Hall of Williamsburg has pretty garbage sound despite its name, and there were a couple of pockets of dead sound where I couldn’t hear Gary or couldn’t hear Ryan – it was annoying

(d) overall thoughts

Even though this wasn’t my favorite Cribs show ever, there were definite highlights. They were towards the end of their tour and noticeably more tired than usual, but they still put on a killer set. They played all my favorite songs and unexpectedly featured “Be Safe” right after we all sang Happy Birthday to drummer baby brother Ross. They used a drop-down projection screen to accompany the spoken-word background of the song, which was super cool and something I never thought I’d see. It’s nice when a band you love can still surprise you.

The crowd, like many Brooklyn shows I’ve been to, was weak as hell and had a bit of an attitude. Gary even mentioned that people were “allowed to dance” and, as a transplant New Yorker himself, said that he too “will go out and dance at shows.” Like, how guilty do you feel when a punkish British dude is giving you shit for not moving at his show? People loved the classics like “Mirror Kissers” and “Hey Scenesters!” but it would’ve been cool if they moved more in general. I particularly adored the final three in the set, especially “I’m a Realist” and “Men’s Needs,” which always takes me back to 2007 when I first saw them in LA. It’s pretty freaking cool to love a band that long when they’re still touring altogether and consistently putting out great music. That really isn’t as common anymore.

Bottom line: Brooklyn crowds freaking suck, but the Jarman Bros. definitely don’t.

Luxley 8/21/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

(Don’t know! Setlist.fm doesn’t have any details and I’m not familiar with their discography. Had fun, though!)

(b) highlights

  • the lead singer came into the crowd and got people dancing – bold move for the first opener in a three-act show!
  • catchy songs, easy to dance to
  • Baby’s All Right is just such a great venue, will always see bands there, lighting is always top-notch, and the food is sweet

(c) lowlights

  • none!

(d) overall thoughts

Ended up at the show by accident – always a great beginning to a story. Luxley was the first act for a super long night of events and I caught them because a friend of mine was shooting them for an online feature. I didn’t know much about them when I got there, but I left feeling like those dudes knew how to dance.

Their set was short but memorable. The lead singer had a palpable stage presence and reminded me of a good combination of Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco and Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees. Luxley has an electro-pop sensibility that doesn’t feel trite or forgettable. I read that they opened for Bombay Bicycle Club a few years ago and hope they tour again with a few big bands so others can catch on. I’d be interested in catching them again sometime soon if only to watch everyone in that band dance.

IMG_20160503_224331

Bottom line: Luxley seem like they have room to grow, but I’m excited to watch them rise up; at the end of the day, successful dancey electro pop songs will get any room dancing and these dudes were definitely successful.

Bonus! I found this track, “Dance Baby” quite memorable:

Brandon Flowers 8/4/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

    1. Dreams Come True
    2. Can’t Deny My Love
    3. Crossfire
    4. Magdalena
    5. Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts
    6. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine (The Killers cover)
    7. Lonely Town
    8. Diggin’ Up The Heart
    9. Read My Mind (The Killers cover)
    10. Untangled Love
    11. The Way It’s Always Been
    12. Human (The Killers cover)
    13. Mr. Brightside (The Killers cover) (Jacques Lu Cont remix)

Encore:

  1. Heart of Gold (Buster Poindexter cover)
  2. I Can Change
  3. Still Want You
  4. Only The Young

(b) highlights

  • “Lonely Town” was the jaaaaaam
  • “Diggin’ Up The Heart” is the epitome of a song I hated so much after hearing it on the album, but somehow accidentally ended up loving and stupid-dancing to live, so that was cool
  • the most disco-y ball disco ball moment ever during “Only The Young”; super into it
  • watching the show from the balcony and away from everyone in the crowd
  • that one time that Brandon mentioned in between songs how he and Dave Keuning would put on makeup in someone’s car or whatever; 10/10 want to hear more stories like that
  • the one time Brandon mentioned talking to Ronnie Vannucci on the phone and I started screaming in the silent venue

(c) lowlights

  • why will you never play “Playing With Fire,” Brandon Flowers. why. why.
  • “Between Me & You” was my favorite song on Brandon’s new album, so he was sure to skip that at this show, but play it at every other show around this time
  • my name is Brandon Flowers and I will never play my best song ever live or even acknowledge its existence and it’s called “The Desired Effect”
  • 90% of Brandon’s backing band doesn’t know how to play their instruments
  • Terminal 5’s Terminal 5ness (not letting me bring in my camera, not offering bottled water, having crapy sound and security)

(d) overall thoughts

Like the last time I saw Brandon Flowers during his solo tour, I decided to remove myself from the pit and watch from the balcony, which I really, really liked. I was eager to catch BFlow on another go-around for his second solo album, The Desired Effect in hopes of hearing more deep cuts and a few of the songs I missed previously. That sort of happened and basically didn’t, but regardless, I had a great time.

Brandon brought out his usual star power and stage presence, which is interesting to watch when the rest of The Killers aren’t with him. I’m not the biggest fan of his back-up band and it’s mostly because I feel like they can’t keep up with him/the usual Killers’ fire, but – in a way – they make Brandon look better. He seemed very comfortable singing his new material and mixing it with his older songs and even the re-calibrated Killers’ songs. I sort of loved that Brandon introduced “Jenny” by having a quick audience poll over whether or not the narrator of the song was “guilty or innocent.” Like, how perfectly dorky and sweet and silly is that. Into it.

I feel like if anyone had wandered into the venue for the encore knowing nothing about Brandon or The Killers at all, even they couldn’t deny that those songs have power and strength and mean something to that crowd. I found myself strangely emotional during “Only The Young” (and not only because of the sweet ass disco ball action), almost realizing for the first time how poignant and beautiful that song is. It induced the feeling of watching a true late-night serenade in the moonlight, and that was such a unique experience. The crowd was so into the show, Brandon was engaging and only gave me secondhand embarrassment twice (a new low!), and it was impossible to not dance along with those hits

 

Bottom line: Whether singing about an idiot named Tony, a murder victim named Jenny, or climate change and debt, Brandon Flowers unabashedly cares and this solo performance reeked of fun, passion, and heart.

Albert Hammond Jr. w/ Gary Clark Jr. 5/21/16

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(i) lineup

(1a) Albert Hammond Jr.
(2b) Gary Clark Jr.

(1a) (Albert’s) setlist

  1. Rude Customer
  2. 101
  3. Touche
  4. Carnal Cruise
  5. GfC
  6. Everyone Gets a Star
  7. Born Slippy
  8. Spooky Couch
  9. Losing Touch
  10. In Transit
  11. St. Justice
  12. Side Boob
  13. Coming to Getcha
  14. Holiday

(1b) highlights

  • Albert!!!! just seeing him makes me so happy, man
  • the setlist! (despite showing up a few songs late, ugh); walking to the venue, I said, “all I really want to hear are ‘Born Slippy,’ ‘Losing Touch,’ and ‘Side Boob’ – it’d be cool if he played those” AND THEN HE DID
  • the arrangement of the songs alone was on fire
  • this feels so stupid to say, but Albert actually sounds EXACTLY like he does on his albums; for the other Strokes’ members who have solo works…..they don’t.
  • everyone in his backing band is cool and doesn’t look bored; insane that this isn’t a typical thing but whatever

(1c) lowlights

  • doors opened way earlier than usual, I was running late because of work, and missed the first couple of songs, SO devastating

(1d) overall thoughts

I’ve been looking forward to seeing AHJ perform his third solo album Momentary Masters since it came out nearly a year ago! I missed the last time he came to NYC, so I was psyched to hear he’d be playing a double headlining set with Gary Clark Jr. at Webster Hall. I saw him perform once before opening for Jake Bugg and promoting his EP AHJ, and he killed it. I’ve loved all his work (honestly more than half the discography of The Strokes) since his practically perfect first solo album, Yours to Keep.

My favorite things about Albert’s work really comes down to how his songs are catchy as hell, all sounding very much like him but distinct from each other, have that shimmer-factor guitar rhythms and solos, sweet vocals, and lyrics with a lot of heart. This Webster Hall show really hammered down the fact that nearly every one of Albert’s tracks could be a single – you can’t help but sing along with all of them. His knack for writing melodies is just so top notch, almost unparalleled. The performance of his newer songs along with the older ones (some of those are 10 years old now, wtf???!) melded perfectly, and his stage presence really brought those tracks even more to life for me.

Bottom Line: Albert Hammond Jr. is the best member of the Strokes, and a quarter of his solo discography is better than 80% of the Strokes’ discography, and I’ll pretty much fight with anyone who disagrees. Also Julian Casablancas and his his Voidz side project is so embarrassing compared to this, like wow.

(2a) (Gary’s) setlist

    1. Bright Lights
    2. Travis County
    3. Next Door Neighbor Blues
    4. Our Love
    5. Cold Blooded
    6. BYOB
    7. Ain’t Messin ‘Round
    8. When My Train Pulls In
    9. Don’t Owe You a Thang
    10. Please Come Home
    11. You Saved Me
    12. Shake

Encore:

  1. Things Are Changin’
  2. Church
  3. Down to Ride
  4. Grinder

(2b) highlights

  • Gary is one hell of a guitarist, like FOR REAL
  • never really encountered GCJ or most of his discography, so it was cool going in blind and being impressed by him
  • really good stage presence

(2c) lowlights

  • some guitar solos can be too long…sacrilege, I know, but it’s true

(2d) overall thoughts

Didn’t know much about Gary Clark Jr. before seeing him, other than knowing he was a cool Southern black dude who plays bluesy-ass guitar super well. And that was pretty much it! In a good way. The crowd was super into him and his songs, which created a fun, positive environment.

He reminded me a little bit of a much-less-boring Ben Harper with elements of Jack White. When his songs were most focused on melody, the chorus, and his vocals, I was so on-board. Nearly every song, however, fell into that free-form jazzy-type that led to solos lasting minutes. It wasn’t too meandering most of the time – I quite enjoyed the bluesy aspect of it all, even if it isn’t quite my usual jam.

Bottom Line: Gary Clark Jr. is naturally super cool and can play the hell out of the guitar; he strikes me as a totally less awful and douchey version of John Mayer, but what do I know.

U2 7/18/16

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(a) setlist

  1. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
  2. The Electric Co.
  3. Vertigo
  4. I Will Follow
  5. Iris (Hold Me Close)
  6. Cedarwood Road
  7. Song For Someone
  8. Sunday Bloody Sunday
  9. Raised By Wolves
  10. Until the End of the World
  11. Invisible
  12. Even Better Than the Real Thing
  13. Mysterious Ways
  14. Elevation
  15. Ordinary Love
  16. October
  17. Every Breaking Wave
  18. With or Without You
  19. City of Blinding Lights
  20. Bullet the Blue Sky
  21. Pride (In The Name of Love)

Encore:

  1. Beautiful Day
  2. Where The Streets Have No Name
  3. One

(b) highlights

  • this was my first time seeing them!!!
  • U2 is INCREDIBLE, haters may proceed to the LEFT, BYEEEE
  • so so SO many great ass songs, like look at that encore, LOOK AT IT
  • making fun of Bono while also worshiping Bono is like my favorite thing to do ever
  • their production notoriously costs about $2947203 million dollars but damn, it is so worth it – I can’t even describe how intricate and unique the use of art and screens and projections was during this show, like wow
  • “Ordinary Love” was dedicated to Nelson Mandela because it was his birthday; then Bono just started naming people like Desmond Tutu and Yo-Yo Ma and like Angelina Jolie or whoever, saying they were all in the crowd tonight; like can you imagine what the U2 VIP guestlist must look like
  • Bono was top-notch Bono-y, I loved it

(c) lowlights

  • would’ve liked to hear “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” 😦 but damn that setlist was so good, so this complaint is a very minor one

(d) overall thoughts

I fell in love with U2 the summer of 2005 pretty much on accident. They, like the Beatles and the Beach Boys, had kind of always existed in the world I grew up in, but I somehow became enamored with their Best Of (1980-1989) when I was 14. I’ve heard for years that their live shows are next-level and with crazy cool production, so I was freaking psyched for this. And I totally was not disappointed.

I feel like a minority in saying that I actually enjoyed U2’s last album Songs of Innocence (and not just for the William Blake reference!) because most of the songs were genuinely great and, oh, sorry, I’m not gonna hate on a super popular band for literally GIVING ME THEIR ALBUM FOR FREE. (Why was everyone such a dick about that Apple thing? I really don’t get it. You got a free album. It’s a standard setting on iTunes for albums to NOT download, so you had to go OUT OF YOUR WAY to make sure iTunes put that album on your phone. Everyone is a douche, bye.) The newer material told a beautiful story that not only Bono spelled out for the audience between and sometimes during songs, but the visual story-telling with the projected artwork and jumbo screens was seriously awesome.

My friend and I were the youngest people in the crowd who weren’t there with their parents, but the crowd – for the most part – was pretty damn into it. Belting out the appropriate numbers (“Pride,” “Where the Streets,” and “With or WIthout You”) with everyone cheering and waving their arms made me wanna close my eyes and just listen to the individual notes. It was impossible to not smile throughout.

Also, hearing “One” for the first time almost exclusively reminded me of my favorite Noel Gallagher quote of all time: “(to Bono) Shut the fuck up about Africa and just play ‘One’!!”

Bottom Line: U2 is amazing, providing true evidence that showmanship is not dead, and everyone wants to be a hater for no reason because people don’t want to be reminded that their stupid lives are inherently better than poor kids in Africa, so everyone shits on Bono when he’s a wonderful man and his band is great, so SUCK IT.

Note: I took 14,283,382 photos, you’re welcome.

Morrissey, Blondie 6/27/15

Posted on Posted in New York CityTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

(i) lineup

(1a) Blondie
(2b) Morrissey

(1a) (Blondie’s) setlist

  1. One Way or Another
  2. Rave
  3. Hanging On the Telephone (The Nerves cover)
  4. Call Me
  5. Maria
  6. A Rose By Any Name
  7. Rapture
  8. Heart of Glass
  9. The Tide is High (The Paragons cover)

(1b) highlights

  • dude, it was BLONDIE
  • Debbie Harry KNOWS WHAT’S UP
  • the Gay Marriage Act had just been passed in that week, so Debbie was up there with her rainbow flag and dancing around, celebrating it; it was adorable
  • apparently Debbie Harry was turning SEVENTY three days before the performance, which is PSYCHOTIC to me because she still sounded so, so good
  • a whole marching band came out during “The Tide is High,” like how precious is that

(1c) lowlights

  • I brought my nice Canon Rebel XS, but we had super far back seats in MSG and there was no jumbotron or feed whatsoever, so Blondie was, uh, super small for everyone in my section

(1d) overall thoughts

Seeing a super iconic artist like Blondie open for someone I love so much in crazy famous venue like Madison Square Garden is something you don’t forget. After all these years, the band still sounded strong. Yeah, their young, punky days have been over for awhile but there’s nothing like hearing “Heart of Glass” and “The Tide Is High” in Madison Square Garden regardless of everyone’s age. Blondie, and Debbie Harry in particular, totally killed it.

Bottom Line: Debbie Harry was 69 years old for this performance and more interesting than half the boring ass Brooklyn-based, leather-jacket-wearing, mediocre-ass opening bands I’ve seen in NYC.

(2a) (Morrissey’s) setlist

    1. The Queen Is Dead (The Smiths cover)
    2. Suedehead
    3. Staircase at the University
    4. Ganglord
    5. World Peace is None of Your Business
    6. Speedway
    7. Kiss Me A Lot
    8. Alma Matters
    9. I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
    10. Everyday Is Like Sunday
    11. Istanbul
    12. Will Never Marry
    13. I Will See You in Far-Off Places
    14. Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed
    15. Kick The Bride Down the Aisle
    16. Neal Cassady Drops Dead
    17. The World is Full of Crashing Bores
    18. The Bullfighter Dies
    19. Meat Is Murder (The Smiths cover)
    20. What She Said (The Smiths cover)

Encore:

  1. Now My Heart Is Full

(2b) highlights

  • MORRISSEY!!!!!!
  • “THE QUEEN IS DEAD”!!! I WAS DEAD!!!
  • seeing the entirety of Madison Square Garden literally light up as the whole crowd belted out “Everyday Is Like Sunday” along with Moz will forever be burned into my retina; such a beautiful, wonderful, almost serenely perfect experience
  • “Ganglord” is stupidly funny to me and it’s totally not supposed to be, but I can’t get over it
  • all of MSG went “meatless” at the request of Moz, which I thought was cool, and “Meat Is Murder” was AMAZING
  • Moz took off his shirt and threw it into the crowd at the end, which I’d only basically read about in books at that point, so that was next-level living a dream

(2c) lowlights

  • at one point in between songs, Moz referenced how bright the theatre was, saying, “there’s a light in here…that never goes out” BUT THEN DIDN’T FUCKING PLAY “THERE’S A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT” LIIIIIKE, WTF?????!!!!???
  • again, there was no jumbotron or live feed, so Moz was like an inch tall – so much for bringing my nice camera for pics -____-

(2d) overall thoughts

Morrissey is basically a god to Smiths’ fans and to the rest of the world who doesn’t find him super insufferable, myself included. I’d been looking forward to this performance forEVER because Morrissey (of course) had cancelled a show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn a year earlier that I was supposed to go to. I was pretty freaking relieved more than anything that MSG agreed to go meatless and Moz actually showed up.

On one hand, this was an incredible performance and definitely one I’ll never forget. There seriously isn’t a better feeling than waiting for him to come on-stage and seeing the Queen give two middle fingers while “The Queen Is Dead” starts playing. Like, my freaking breath caught in my chest, I could barely stand it. The crowd was mostly really responsive and the stage design and lights were really solid. But on the other hand…I feel like Moz actively tries to annoy the crowd. It’s as if he performs better knowing everyone is annoyed with him. He played so much new material from his newest album World Peace Is None of Your Business, which I actually wouldn’t at all mind…if the album was actually good. (That’s mostly unfair – the album is fine, but nowhere near his previous works, but I digress.) Like, why not play “Hairdresser On Fire”? Or another solo song that everyone knows and loves and can dance too. I’m not saying I want an hour-long performance only of Smiths’ covers, but how fucked up can you get when you seriously reference a Smiths’ song in your between-song banter, but then not play it???? I love you, Morrissey, but my god.

Bottom Line: The memorable moments outweighed the bad at this Moz performance and at least he didn’t run off stage this time! Also he took off his shirt! What a time to be alive!