POWERLINE A.D.

PJ Harvey and John Parish
6/9/09 — Beacon Theatre
New York, NY

Following a 30-minute solo acoustic set by support act Pop Parker, Polly Harvey, John Parish, and the rest of the band took the stage at the beautifully restored Beacon Theatre in New York City to thunderous applause and loud cheers from the crowd. Harvey might not have a huge following Stateside, but those followers that she does have are quite ardent.

Harvey was barefoot and clad in a knee-length black dress. Parish, bassist Eric Drew Feldman, and guitarist Giovanni Ferrario wore jackets and fedoras. Only drummer Jean-Marc Butty defied the dress code of the male members of the band and went hatless.

They kicked off their set with a searing version of “Black Hearted Love,” the lead single from A Woman A Man Walked By, the second collaborative album between Harvey and Parish, which was released earlier this year. (Their first, Dance Hall At Louse Point, was released in 1996.)

On this tour, Harvey is singing and not playing an instrument. During the course of the show, Parish played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, steel guitar, banjo, and ukulele. Feldman and Ferrario also played several different instruments. The musical arrangements by Parish are somewhat off-kilter and, combined with Harvey’s sometimes bizarre vocals, give their music something of an unsettling air. This was particularly in evidence when they performed “Pig Will Not,” which closed the main set, as well as the spectacularly titled “A Woman A Man Walked By/The Crow Knows Where All The Little Children Go,” which featured Harvey stalking the stage and demanding loudly, “I want your fucking ass!”

Harvey, nearly 40, danced barefoot around the stage for a good bit of the set, drawing a great reaction from the crowd. In those moments, you could not take your eyes off of her. It was mesmerizing.

Harvey and Parish performed songs from both of their collaborative albums as well as a song of Parish’s titled “False Fire” that opened the encore. Curiously, one of their best collaborative efforts, “That Was My Veil,” was not performed at the New York show. And that was my only disappointment on what was otherwise a fantastic evening of music.

The main set featured 14 songs and was followed by a two-song encore. Harvey and Parish were on stage for 80 minutes. In addition to the songs mentioned above, other songs performed on the night included “Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen,” “Leaving California,” “The Soldier,” “Cracks In The Canvas,” “Rope Bridge Crossing,” “Urn With Dead Flowers In A Drained Pool,” “Civil War Correspondent,” and “April.” The musical styles throughout the concert varied wildly and included punk, rock, folk, country, and even a bit of gospel. It was astounding, and it made for a riveting, and phenomenal, performance.

Harvey and Parish have known each other since their teenage years, and they have worked together on several projects in addition to their two collaborative album. Based on their great show at the Beacon Theatre, I hope we don’t have to wait another 13 years for their next collaborative album and to see them perform together again.

— Review by John Curley
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The Music of R.E.M. (Various Artists)
3/11/09 — Carnegie Hall
New York, NY

The tribute to the music of R.E.M. that was held on Wednesday night, March 11th at New York City’s Carnegie Hall was, to put it simply, a joyous night filled with some fantastic performances. The show was for the benefit of several music education charities, which Michael Stipe spoke about near the end of the show. And the show was also quite special for the longtime hardcore fans of R.E.M. There were several somewhat obscure (but great) songs performed during the concert. Some of R.E.M.’s biggest hits—such as “The One I Love,” “Stand,” “Shiny Happy People,” and “Losing My Religion”—were not performed at the show. There was a generous helping of songs from the early days of R.E.M., the time when their Byrds-inspired jangly power pop first caught my attention.

Twenty artists (apart from R.E.M. themselves) took part in the show. They ranged from the relatively obscure (Kimya Dawson and Keren Ann) to the well-known (Patti Smith and Marshall Crenshaw). And the performances varied greatly, from slash-and-burn rock to the quiet and introspective. It was during the quieter pieces that the amazing acoustics at Carnegie Hall became apparent. This was my first visit to Carnegie Hall, and I left thoroughly impressed. What an amazing venue in which to see a concert!

The dBs got the night started in proper fashion with a soaring version of one of R.E.M.’s best singles of the 1980s, “Fall On Me.” The “Buy the sky/And sell the sky/Bleed the sky/And tell the sky” bit from the song sounded absolutely amazing in Carnegie Hall. Wow! Peter Holsapple of The dBs was a backing musician for R.E.M. on several tours, so he is probably more familiar with the R.E.M. catalog than any of the other artists on the bill.

Kristen Hersh of Throwing Muses delivered a spectacular take on “Perfect Circle,” one of R.E.M.’s most beautiful songs. I saw Throwing Muses open for R.E.M. at a 1988 show in New Jersey, so it was nice to see Hersh now paying homage to the group that her band had supported over 20 years ago.

The highlight of the show for me was The Feelies’ performance of “Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)” from R.E.M.’s debut E.P. Chronic Town. The Feelies, from my home state of New Jersey, delivered a rip-roaring version of the song, one of R.E.M.’s earliest compositions, and received a great response from the crowd when they finished. Why The Feelies never became a huge band will always be a mystery to me.

One of R.E.M.’s contemporaries, Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü and Sugar fame, also tore it up on stage with a fantastic take on “Sitting Still,” a track from R.E.M.’s 1983 Murmur album. And Rhett Miller of the Old 97s did a very rock-and-roll version of “Driver 8,” complete with hip shaking and karate kicks. Elvis would have been very proud indeed.

The Los Angeles band Calexico served as the house band for about half of the artists on the bill. They also got their own moment in the spotlight, performing the song “Wendell Gee.”

With so many artists performing in the show, there were quite a few standout moments. The Apples In Stereo’s performance of the terrific “South Central Rain” was a particular highlight as was Jolie Holland’s version of “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville.” I was never a fan of Hootie & the Blowfish, but Darius Rucker’s take on “I Believe” was quite impressive. The guy can sing! Marshall Crenshaw’s performance of “Supernatural Superserious” from R.E.M.’s most recent album, Accelerate, was superb. And I would certainly be remiss if I failed to mention Kimya Dawson’s bizarre but touching version of “World Leader Pretend.” While Dawson was performing the song, she was backed by four costumed dancers who were alternately dancing and tossing a big beach ball around. It was quirky, to be sure, but it worked. The crowd loved it.

Of the more introspective performances, Ingrid Michaelson’s take on the Mike Mills composition “Nightswimming” was probably the best. Michaelson’s vocals were accompanied by an acoustic bass, and she delivered an absolutely gorgeous version of the song. Rachael Yamagata’s version of “The Great Beyond” and Dar Williams’ performance of “At My Most Beautiful” were also both stunning.

The legendary Patti Smith took the stage to a great reaction from the hometown New York City crowd and performed “New Test Leper” from R.E.M.’s New Adventures In Hi-Fi album. About halfway through, Smith forgot the words and had to regain her bearings. The crowd was behind her, though, and she recalled the forgotten lyrics and finished the song in style. Smith also spoke about how Michael Stipe helped her through a very difficult period in her life and of her great affection for him.

Following Smith’s performance, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, and Peter Buck joined Smith on stage for a run through of “E-Bow The Letter,” which is also on the New Adventures In Hi-Fi album. Stipe actually got down on his knees and gazed up at Smith as she sang her part of the song. Stipe doing that could be considered pretentious by some. Several rock critics over the years have slated R.E.M. for pretense. Hell, I’ve been an R.E.M. fan going back to the early 1980s, and I’ve thought from time to time that some of the things they’ve done have been pretentious. But I think Stipe’s action was genuine and heartfelt. In that moment, he seemed like a starstruck fan himself. After all, Patti Smith was one of the artists that made Stipe want to forge a career in music. When R.E.M. and Smith finished the song, to great applause from the crowd, all of the artists that had performed in the show came onto the stage to take a final bow.

While I wish that R.E.M. had performed one of their more rocking numbers to close the show instead of the somewhat dour “E-Bow The Letter,” I can’t say that I left Carnegie Hall disappointed. Getting to hear all of those artists perform their interpretations of songs from R.E.M.’s considerable catalog was a real treat. I don’t know if the concert was recorded for a future release, but I hope that it was. I’m sure that R.E.M. fans the world over who were not fortunate enough to be in attendance at Carnegie Hall would love to get the chance to hear the show. It was a great night of music, indeed. And it was both a pleasure and a privilege to have been in attendance.

The set list was as follows:

Fall On Me—The dBs
The Apologist—Fink
Man on the Moon—Keren Ann with Calexico
Wendell Gee—Calexico
The Great Beyond—Rachael Yamagata with Calexico
Sitting Still—Bob Mould with Calexico
Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)—The Feelies
Nightswimming—Ingrid Michaelson
Hairshirt—Glen Hansard
South Central Rain—The Apples In Stereo
Shaking Through—Guster
Supernatural Superserious—Marshall Crenshaw with Calexico
Driver 8—Rhett Miller with Calexico
World Leader Pretend—Kimya Dawson
Everybody Hurts—Vic Chesnutt with Elf Power
Perfect Circle—Kristen Hersh and Throwing Muses
At My Most Beautiful—Dar Williams
(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville—Jolie Holland with Calexico
I Believe—Darius Rucker with Calexico
New Test Leper—Patti Smith
E-Bow The Letter—R.E.M. with Patti Smith

— Review by John Curley
 

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Oasis
12/17/08 — Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Oasis took the stage at Madison Square Garden to their usual “Fuckin’ In The Bushes” intro and to a huge reception from the audience. I had been expecting a great show, but left the Garden afterward a bit disappointed in the show that I had seen. I can’t put my finger on exactly why the show wasn’t completely satisfying, but it wasn’t. It was a decent show, but not a particularly memorable one.

Mixing old material like “Rock And Roll Star,” “Wonderwall,” “Cigarettes & Alcohol,” “Morning Glory,” “Supersonic,” “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” and “Champagne Supernova” with the new stuff from their latest album Dig Out Your Soul, including “The Shock Of The Lightning” and “I’m Outta Time,” Oasis played a solid, if not spectacular 1 hour and 45-minute set. The main set contained 16 songs and was followed by a four-song encore. The encore concluded with their cover of The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus.” In addition to vocalist Liam Gallagher, guitarist/vocalist Noel Gallagher, guitarist Gem Archer, and bassist Andy Bell, Oasis featured new drummer Chris Sharrock (Sharrock is their fourth drummer) and keyboardist Jay Darlington.

The audience seemed curiously not into the show. With the exception of several hundred Britons who came over for the show and were going crazy the entire time (they sang along with every song and did an “O-A-SIS!!! O-A-SIS!!” chant between each song), the audience seemed pretty lifeless. That might be part of the reason for the somewhat lackluster performance by Oasis. There was no energy from the crowd for the band to feed off. After Noel Gallagher sang a song and received tepid applause in response, he sarcastically said “Thank you” to the crowd. When Liam Gallagher introduced his own composition, “I’m Outta Time,” he told the crowd, “This is a song I wrote about John Lennon.” Then, he added, “Have any of you ever heard of him?” Liam also thanked the British members of the audience for coming to the show and helping to ensure a sell out.

I was supposed to see Oasis perform a special show at Terminal 5 in New York City in September. That gig was due to filmed for a DVD release. After Noel Gallagher was assaulted on stage in Toronto earlier that same week, the Terminal 5 show was canceled. I don’t know why Oasis didn’t just postpone the Terminal 5 show and play it when they were in New York for the Garden show. I’m sure the atmosphere at a Terminal 5 gig by Oasis would’ve been considerably better than that at the Garden on December 17th. I’ve been a fan of Oasis for years and would go see them live again. But I hope that their future appearances in New York City are better than their show at the Garden. Perhaps Oasis should play a smaller venue next time around. Their two shows at New York City’s Beacon Theatre in 2002 were superb.

The support act for Oasis at the December 17th Garden show was Ryan Adams and The Cardinals. They delivered a 30-minute set that was very well received by the crowd.

— Review by John Curley

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Jolie Holland
11/13/08 — The HighLine Ballroom
New York, NY

Entering The HighLine Ballroom on the night of Thursday, November 13th for Jolie Holland’s show there, I was somewhat dismayed to see that tables had been set up on the floor in front of the stage. I was concerned about it because I feared that the seated arrangement would lead to a kind of ‘dinner theater’ atmosphere for the show. All of the previous shows that I had attended at The HighLine Ballroom had been standing room, and all of them had really terrific, raucous atmospheres. But my fears were put to rest by the stellar performance that Jolie Holland delivered that night.

The show at The HighLine Ballroom (which is located on West 16th Street in Chelsea and is arguably New York City’s best club venue) was Holland’s last of the North American tour in support of her critically acclaimed fourth album, The Living and the Dead. (Her European tour starts in Paris on November 21.) Backed by a band featuring Rachel Blumberg on drums, Dave Depper on bass, and Sean Flinn on guitar, Holland gave a fantastic 80-minute performance that pleased the packed audience at The HighLine Ballroom.

Opening the show with “Mexico City,” the first single from the new album, Holland had the crowd’s attention from the start. Playing acoustic guitar, electric keyboards, and the Jecusco box fiddle in different parts of the show, Holland’s set was quite eclectic, mixing rock, blues, and folk influences. The set list also included “Fox In Its Hole,” “Palmyra,” “Sweet Loving Man,” “Corrido Por Buddy,” “Alley Flowers,” and “Crush In The Ghetto.” A particular highlight of the show was “Littlest Birds,” a song that Holland wrote when she was a member of the Be Good Tanyas. Holland performed the song with Samantha Parton, her former Be Good Tanyas bandmate.

At one point of the show, Holland performed a song with a friend of hers named Jason Leonard. Holland played the Jecusco box fiddle on this song while Leonard played the neck of the box fiddle with specially designed fiddle sticks, creating a very interesting sound. It was a pretty inventive mix, and it drew quite a response from the crowd.

Holland’s star is definitely on the rise, as was clear from the response that her show at The HighLine Ballroom received from the crowd. Her fan base is growing, as is her profile on the music scene. She is definitely an artist to keep your eyes on.

I’d be remiss if I failed to mention Herman Dune, the opening act at the show. The easy-going stage manner of Herman Dune's singer-guitarist, David-Ivar Herman Dune, got the crowd on his side from the start. Herman Dune gave the audience a 35-minute set that was quite entertaining.

It was a very good night of music in Chelsea, one of those nights that makes me feel glad that I live close to New York City and have easy access to the great live music events that take place there.

— Review by John Curley

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The Who
10/29/08 — Izod Center
East Rutherford, NJ

“Where are we?” Pete Townshend joked as he, Roger Daltrey, and the rest of the musicians in the current incarnation of The Who took the stage at the Izod Center in the New Jersey Meadowlands on Wednesday night, October 29th. The surviving members of The Who—Townshend and Daltrey, who are now referred to by some Who fans as The Two—are currently on a short tour of North America. The North American dates will be followed by a series of shows in Japan. Since The Who is not currently touring behind an album, the set at the Izod Center was, more or less, a collection of greatest hits. And that seemed just fine with the 13,000 or so fans that attended the show.

The Who’s show on Wednesday night was considerably more stripped down than their show that I saw at New York’s Madison Square Garden in September 2006. The Garden show in 2006 featured numerous video screens showing both close ups of the musicians on stage as well as images that were intended to go along with the songs. At the Meadowlands, there was only one screen used. It was behind the band, and it was used to show images and film intended to provide a visual for the songs. Pictures of Elvis Presley were shown during “Real Good Looking Boy” and scenes from Franc Roddam’s 1979 film version of Quadrophenia were used to great effect when The Who were performing “Love, Reign O’er Me.”

The set that The Who performed on Wednesday night spanned their history, from their first single, 1965’s “I Can’t Explain,” to two songs from their 2006 album, Endless Wire. A nice surprise in the set was “Sister Disco” from the 1978 Who Are You album. Townshend had declared his hatred for the song in an interview years ago, and I figured then that I’d never hear The Who perform it live again. “Sister Disco” sounded fresh at the Izod Center show, with its shimmering keyboards and drummer Zak Starkey replicating Keith Moon’s part from the album. It was also good to hear songs from what I consider to be The Who’s greatest album, Quadrophenia, get a live airing. The Quadrophenia material had been dropped from the live set during the 2006 shows that promoted the Endless Wire album.

The material from Tommy, performed during the encore, sounded terrific. “Amazing Journey” and “Sparks,” in particular, really crackled with energy. The Who have played Tommy to death throughout their career, so to make the songs sound so alive at the Izod Center was no mean feat. There are rumors that The Who will do several special performances to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of Tommy next year, including shows at some of the finest opera houses in the world. Will those shows actually happen? Who knows? I’d certainly like to see them perform at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

Given The Who’s lengthy history, they have quite a few songs to choose from when performing live. I realize that they have to play certain songs to please the casual fans that only know the FM radio hits. But I wish that they would drop “Behind Blue Eyes” And “Real Good Looking Boy” from the set. Both songs really dragged. I would prefer it if The Who had played more material from the 1960s, like “I Can See For Miles” or “Pictures of Lily.” They recorded quite a few great singles in their pre-Tommy days, most of which haven’t been played live in years. Playing some of those songs live again would be quite pleasing to the hardcore Who fans at their live shows.

Kudos should go to the people operating the soundboard at the Izod Center show. The Who’s sound was crisp and clear, possibly the best sound that I’ve ever heard at an arena show. Even when Townshend was talking to the crowd, every word came through perfectly. Arena shows are notorious for bad sound, so hearing The Who at the Izod Center performance was a privilege.

Townshend talked to the crowd quite a bit, which was kind of unusual. He spoke about the bad economy (and thanked the fans for coming to the show despite it), the upcoming presidential election (revealing no preference for Obama or McCain), and The Who’s love of America and how American music inspired them as teenagers. Since this show was in New Jersey, he also spoke of how a young guy named Bruce Springsteen used to go to see The Who when The Who were doing their first performances in New Jersey back in the 1960s.

In addition to Townshend and Daltrey, the current road lineup of The Who includes drummer Zak Starkey (the son of Ringo Starr), bassist Pino Palladino, keyboardist John “Rabbit” Bundrick, and Simon Townshend (Pete’s younger brother), who provided rhythm guitar and backing vocals. It is quite a talented band. Zak Starkey really stood out among the musicians. He is a spectacular drummer. There were times during the show when The Who sounded like they did with Keith Moon in his prime.

The Izod Center show was my 17th time seeing The Who, so I certainly can’t say that it was the best Who show I’ve seen. I have seen The Who in some pretty special venues over the past several years—including a March 2004 show for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity at Royal Albert Hall in London and a November 2006 performance at the 1200-seat Events Center at The Borgata in Atlantic City. Seeing The Who in a hockey arena setting just doesn’t compare after witnessing the shows mentioned above. But The Who’s performance at the Izod Center was pretty solid. Are they as good as they were in their prime? Of course not. But they are certainly among the best of the veteran bands still plying their trade on the road. Daltrey’s voice sounded fantastic at the Izod Center show, and Townshend’s guitar work was as fiery as it’s ever been. In addition, Daltrey was twirling the microphone around by its cable much more than he had been doing in 2006. Overall, it was a pretty energetic show by The Who. And that’s kind of remarkable, considering that Daltrey is 64 and Townshend is 63.

I attended The Who’s Izod Center show with a friend of mine and his eight-year-old son, whose name is Ryan. The show was Ryan’s first rock concert, so I will give the last word of this review to him. When I asked Ryan what the highlight of the show was for him, he replied, “I liked it when Townshend windmilled.”

The Who’s set at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ on October 29, 2008 was as follows:

I Can’t Explain
The Seeker
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Fragments
Who Are You
Behind Blue Eyes
Real Good Looking Boy
Sister Disco
Baba O’Reilly
Getting In Tune
Eminence Front
5.15
Love, Reign O’er Me
My Generation
Won’t Get Fooled Again

Encore:
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey
Sparks
See Me, Feel Me
Tea & Theatre

— Review by John Curley
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Duffy
10/22/08 — Webster Hall
NY, NY

“How ya doin’, New York?” Duffy asked the Webster Hall crowd at one point during her show on Wednesday night, putting on her best faux New York accent. The crowd answered with a loud roar. When the cheers subsided, Duffy added with a smile, “It’s not often that a Welsh girl gets to say that.”

Clad in a tight, low-cut red minidress with a black stripe on the back, the 24-year-old North Wales native put on a memorable performance at Webster Hall. I had never seen Duffy live before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. What Duffy delivered was a spectacular, sexually charged (and sometimes emotional) show that showcased her powerful vocal ability. The show was sold out, and the crowd was pretty raucous. Like many performers, Duffy seemed to both revel in and feed off of the adulation of the New York City crowd. There were a few points during the show when Duffy actually had tears streaming down her face. She apologized to the crowd for having to wipe her eyes. To me, they seemed like tears of joy.

Duffy dominates the stage like few performers that I’ve seen live. While her six-piece backing band is a very tight group and add a great deal to the performance, all eyes were on Duffy. This was true even during the instrumental breaks, when Duffy would slowly twirl her microphone around by its cable while looking directly out into the crowd, a large smile on her face. At other points, when Duffy was singing and moving around the stage, she would crack the microphone cable as if it were a whip. It was very sexy.

Performing most of her debut album, Rockferry, as well as her forthcoming single, “Rain On Your Parade,” Duffy put on a show that proved to this writer that she is no flash-in-the-pan pop princess. She is clearly a talent. Duffy’s single “Mercy” has received quite a bit of airplay, and is largely responsible for selling so many copies of the Rockferry album. However, the album is not just “Mercy” and a bunch of filler. Rockferry is a solid piece of work, and quite a debut album. The live element and the buzzing crowd gave even more heft to the songs.

Duffy will be opening shows for Coldplay over the next few days at arenas in New Jersey, Boston, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. If anybody reading this will be attending any of those Coldplay concerts, make sure you get there early and check out Duffy’s set.

I’m glad I was able to see Duffy do her thing in an intimate venue like Webster Hall. She is a stunning woman and an absolutely mesmerizing performer. I am very much looking forward to her second album and her next New York City concert date.

Opening the festivities at Webster Hall on Wednesday night was Eli “Paperboy” Reed, a Bostonian who, assisted by a very large backing band, delivered a spirited 45-minute set of horn-based, blue-eyed soul. Reed was received quite well by the crowd and is a talent to keep your eyes on.

Duffy’s set list at the October 22nd show at Webster Hall was as follows:

Syrup & Honey
Rockferry
Hanging On Too Long
Serious
Rain On Your Parade
Breaking My Own Heart
Warwick Avenue
Delayed Devotion
Stepping Stone
Tomorrow
Mercy

Encore:
I’m Scared
Distant Dreamer

— Review by John Curley

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The Enemy
8/11/08 — Bowery Ballroom
NY, NY

I sometimes wonder why people will pay $100 or more to sit in a hockey arena and watch a bunch of old fossils like The Eagles perform their overplayed and tired songs when, for a fraction of that price, they can go to a club and watch an exciting young band totally tear it up on stage. That idea came to me again late this past Monday night as I was making my way home from seeing the Coventry, England band The Enemy make their New York City debut with an ecstatic and absolutely ferocious show at Bowery Ballroom. The tickets to The Enemy’s show were cheap, I was able to stand very close to the stage, and I had the privilege of seeing one of the finest young bands of today play their first-ever show in Manhattan.

The Enemy, who are being billed as The Enemy UK here in America for some reason (Is there a band called The Enemy USA?), have just completed a brief American tour that was designed to get their name and music known to the American music-buying public. The last show of the tour was their stellar performance in New York City.

The Enemy, which is comprised of (pictured above, left to right) Andy Hopkins (bass and backing vocals), Liam Watts (drums), and Tom Clarke (guitar and lead vocals), were touring behind their debut album, We’ll Live And Die In These Towns. The album, which was a big hit upon its release in the band’s native UK last year, was released here in America on July 29th. Given that relatively recent release date, it appears that a large number of the fans in attendance at The Enemy’s Bowery Ballroom show had listened to the album quite a bit since its release as many of them seemed to know every word to every song. There were a few instances during the performance in which Clarke stopped singing and let the crowd belt out the lead vocal as he stalked around the stage providing slash-and-burn guitar work.

Anticipation for The Enemy’s set began as soon as you entered the performance area at Bowery Ballroom because on the stage behind the instruments there was a giant banner reading:

The Enemy
“We’ll live and die in these towns . . .”

Just seeing that banner gave me the feeling that I was about to see an amazing show. And The Enemy did not disappoint.

Coming on to the stage with The Specials’ “Too Much Too Young” playing over the P.A. (perhaps this was a self-deprecating joke on themselves, given their young ages), The Enemy, who were augmented in concert by a keyboard player, set the tone for the night straight away with a blistering version of “Away From Here.” And the crowd, mostly people in their early 20s, were into it from the word go, pogoing up and down in time with the music and loudly singing along with every word. The Enemy’s performance of “Had Enough” was particularly raucous. The entire show was exhilarating. What a great atmosphere for a gig!

While The Enemy have been compared quite a bit to The Jam in the music press on both sides of the pond, I would, after seeing them live for the first time, also have to compare them to The Clash. Between songs, Clarke spoke very thoughtfully about how coming to America had opened his eyes to the similarities between the UK and America. He mentioned the mortgage crisis, high gas prices, and growing unemployment as being big problems on both sides of the pond. On this score, I was very impressed with Clarke. He seems like the real deal. And, in that sense, he reminds me a lot of Joe Strummer. Some musicians talk about social problems and it seems like a bunch of BS. But when Clarke sang “We’ll Live And Die In These Towns,” it was clear that he meant every word.

The Enemy played an 11-song, 50-minute set with no encore. Hell, after the scorching performance that they provided, they didn’t need to do an encore. They were terrific, and judging from both the immeasurable talent that I saw on stage and the crowd’s absolutely ecstatic reaction to the show, it is clear to me that The Enemy are going to be a big band here in America in the not-too-distant future. Clarke promised that The Enemy would be back next year. If they fulfill that promise, I hope they do a larger-scale tour of America. Fans in cities besides the few they played on this tour deserve to see The Enemy do their thing. A larger tour will definitely help The Enemy secure a foothold in America. They are easily one of the best live bands around at the moment.

There were two support acts on the bill—Gran Ronde from Los Angeles and The Photo Atlas from Denver.

Gran Ronde opened the show. They consist of two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. They played a 40-minute set and were quite good. Grande Ronde plays a quite powerful guitar-driven brand of alternative rock. Their drummer is an outstanding musician. It probably won’t be long before Gran Ronde is headlining places like Bowery Ballroom. Check them out. They are worth a listen.

I wish I could give the same kudos to the second band of the night, The Photo Atlas, but I can’t. The Photo Atlas also consists of two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. While they are good musicians, there wasn’t anything particularly interesting about their music. It was kind of bland and unmemorable. They should have opened the show with Gran Ronde playing before The Enemy.

The Enemy’s set consisted of the entire We’ll Live And Die In These Towns album with the exception of the album’s last track, “Happy Birthday Jane.” In addition to the tracks from the album, The Enemy also performed a new song. Clarke said that the song would be on their upcoming second album and that it concerned a guy with whom he had a disagreement at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival. It was a good song. Clarke told the crowd the title of the song but, with all the crowd noise, I couldn’t make out what Clarke was saying. One of The Enemy’s roadies was even kind of enough to give me a set list, but the new song wasn’t listed on it!

Seeing The Enemy at this point in the career is probably akin to what it was like to see The Who on their first American tour in 1967. During that Who tour, a journalist asked The Who’s Pete Townshend what the band hoped to accomplish on that tour. Townshend responded with a great quote, saying, “We want to leave a wound.” I can report truthfully that, with their amazing show at Bowery Ballroom, The Enemy has left a wound. A gaping one.

The Enemy’s set list at the August 11th Bowery Ballroom gig was as follows:
Away From Here
40 Days And 40 Nights
Pressure
Technodanceaphobic
Had Enough
Aggro
We’ll Live And Die In These Towns
This Song
New song—title unknown
It’s Not OK
You’re Not Alone

Review by John Curley

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The Subways
7/25/08 — The Blender Theatre at Gramercy
NY, NY

The three-piece, UK-based band The Subways made a triumphant return to New York City on Friday night, July 25th with an incredibly energetic show at The Blender Theatre at Gramercy on East 23rd Street.

The Subways—which are comprised of Billy Lunn on guitar and vocals, Charlotte Cooper on bass and vocals, and Josh Morgan on drums—are currently touring North America in support of their new album, All or Nothing. (While the album has already been released in the UK, it is not due to drop in America until September 9th.)

The fact that the new album has not been released yet in America did affect the familiarity that the fans have with the new material. Apart from “Girls & Boys,” the album’s lead single which the band provided as a free download earlier this year, the fans, for the most part, did not seem to know the new songs. The Subways did perform a mix of material from the new album, which is their second, and their 2005 debut album, Young For Eternity.

Kicking off the show with a blistering version of “Kalifornia” from the new album, The Subways packed 13 songs into about 60 minutes of stage time. Their main set consisted of 11 songs and was followed by a two-song encore. In addition to “Kalifornia,” other songs performed in the main set included “Oh Yeah,” “Alright,” “Obsession,” “Mary,” “Shake! Shake!,” “I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say,” “Turnaround,” and “I Won’t Let You Down.” The encore was comprised of “Girls & Boys” and their best-known song, “Rock & Roll Queen.”

The highlight of the main set was “Oh Yeah,” which drove the crowd into a frenzy. Since I am familiar with the material from the new album by listening to UK music radio on the Internet, I also really enjoyed the performance of “Alright,” the second single from the new album.

Billy Lunn is a very demonstrative frontman. He continually implored the crowd to make noise and he ventured out into the audience on a few occasions. During the final song of the encore, “Rock & Roll Queen,” Lunn raced across the stage and then dove into the crowd. Lunn seems to possess boundless energy, which is a good thing for a band on a long tour.

Bassist Charlotte Cooper strikes quite a figure on stage. Clad all in black except for red shoes at the New York gig, Cooper stalked around the stage for a good part of the show and bobbed her head up and down in time with the music like a blonde female version of Angus Young. It’s difficult to take your eyes off of her during the performance because she moves around so much and is quite attractive as well.

Because Lunn and Cooper command so much attention on stage, it is sometimes easy to overlook drummer Josh Morgan. But that would be a mistake. He is a powerhouse drummer and is largely responsible for holding the sound together when Lunn is off in the crowd and Cooper is running around the stage.

Lunn, Cooper, and Morgan work very well together and create a frenetic, listener-friendly sound. I expect big things from The Subways in the future. I hope that they consider returning to play New York City again after the new album is released in America so that the fans will be more familiar with the new material.

Opening the night’s festivities were a four-piece band (two guitars, bass, and drums) from New York City called The Postelles. Their guitar-heavy sound evokes the great classic rocks bands of the past, and their 30-minute set was very well received by the crowd. They gave an impressive performance. The Postelles have a tight sound and seem like a band on the rise. If I had to describe the sound of The Postelles, I would say that they resemble a hybrid of The Fratellis and the Arctic Monkeys with a bit of The Strokes thrown in for good measure. In fact, Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes produced The Postelles’ latest single.

It was a great night of music from two young bands hailing from opposite sides of the pond. The tickets were quite affordable as well, which is always a good thing.

Review by John Curley

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Blondie
6/22/08 — Nokia Theatre Times Square
NY, NY

I’ve been a fan of Blondie since their late 1970s heyday but had never seen them live before Sunday night, June 22nd. It was worth the wait. Their show at the Nokia Theatre Times Square was superb.

The five male members of Blondie’s current touring lineup took the stage first and played a rave-up, heightening the anticipation for Debbie Harry’s arrival to the stage at this, their latest hometown gig. They were clad totally in black, save for drummer Clem Burke who was wearing a black CBGB’s T-shirt with white lettering.

As the intro rave-up ended, Debbie Harry took the stage to a huge roar from the sold-out house. Harry is 62 years old (she will be 63 next week), and she looked absolutely incredible. She wore a sparkling black-and-silver striped dress that was designed to resemble Blondie’s Parallel Lines album cover. And that made a great deal of sense, since Blondie’s current tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines, the album that launched Blondie to worldwide stardom in 1978.

They performed the complete Parallel Lines album in track order to the delight of the audience. Parallel Lines contained several of Blondie’s biggest hits, including “Hanging On The Telephone,” “One Way Or Another,” “Picture This,” and “Heart Of Glass.”

After playing some of their lesser-known newer songs, Blondie again dipped into their back catalog and delivered a few more of their older hits, such as “(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear,” “Rapture” (which included a bit of “Hey Bo Diddley” as a tribute to the recently deceased rock legend, Bo Diddley), and the set closer, “Call Me,” which was the theme song to the film American Gigolo. The main set featured 18 songs. The three-song encore included “The Tide Is High” and a cracking cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Get Off Of My Cloud,” which was the final song of a fantastic 90-minute night of music from Blondie.

The current touring roster of Blondie features only Harry, Burke, and guitarist Chris Stein from the band’s original lineup. (Original keyboardist Jimmy Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004.) The band is rounded out by keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen, guitarist Paul Carbonara, and bassist Leigh Foxx.

One minor quibble with the show was that the bass was too prominent in the sound mix too often. There were a few occasions on which the bass was drowning out Chris Stein’s playing. I could actually feel the bass sound pounding into my chest. The bass didn’t need to be that loud in a venue the size of the Nokia Theatre. Apart from that, though, the show was very enjoyable. The crowd seemed to love it.

Debbie Harry was in fine voice and seemed to be in great spirits. She appeared to be very happy to be back home in New York City and mentioned that fact several times throughout the concert. She was dancing during the show and, near the end of the show, wrecked the shoes she was wearing. So, she took the shoes off and threw them into the crowd. She also seemed very happy with the reaction of the crowd to Blondie’s performance.

Special mention should go to the drumming of Clem Burke during the concert. Burke was phenomenal, putting on a virtual drumming clinic throughout the performance. Although Burke is now 52 years old, he hasn’t lost a step. He is still a master showman, arguably still among the best drummers in rock music. Burke’s stunning performance at the Nokia Theatre show would likely put most drummers a generation younger than him to shame. It’s easy to see why his drumming talents are still very much in demand for session work.

This current Blondie tour continues through early August, with shows in both North America and Europe. While Blondie’s best creative days are behind them, they still put on a stellar live show. They are definitely worth checking out.

The support act at Blondie’s Nokia Theatre show was Miss Derringer, a five-piece outfit from Los Angeles. The band includes two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. They are fronted by Liz McGrath, a blonde-haired stunner. McGrath was clad in an outfit that resembled those of the cigarette girls at night clubs of the 1940s and 1950s. The band’s 30-minute set featured songs that sounded similar to early-era Blondie. Miss Derringer delivered a spirited set but they seemed to be something of an odd choice for the opening band in that they are obviously so heavily influenced by Blondie that they almost came across as a Blondie tribute act. Given that the show was a hometown gig, I’m quite surprised that Blondie didn’t pick an up-and-coming New York band (such as The Choke, for example) for the support slot.

Review by John Curley

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Clinic
5/31/08 — Bowery Ballroom
NY, NY

Clinic took the stage to Gerry and the Pacemakers' cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone," the unofficial song of their hometown soccer team, Liverpool FC,* and — as you can see from the setlist above — the gig at the Bowery Ballroom proceeded with the entire new album, Do It!, in its track order.

I have never been a fan of bands that play their entire new album live. As fans, we need to ease into the new release. A complete set of songs still somewhat unfamiliar can be really discouraging. Yet, in this case, I didn't seem to mind.

Opener "Memories" was perfectly loud and biting; the quasi-instrumental "Corpus Christi" — unappealing on the disc — had a spontaneous rebirth live; and the refreshingly aggressive punk of "Shopping Bag" was absolutely brilliant. Singer/guitarist/keyboardist Ade Blackburn strummed demonically in standard punk stance, and the band sped behind him ... antique Vox amps and blistering drums making the music sound like a razor/airplane combo.

The Liverpudlians took a quick break to change their surgical masks anew (yes, for those of you that don't know, they wear surgical maske throughout the entire show) and they began the second set as a sorta Best Of (at least, to the band) run-through. See photo of setlist below.

The standouts were easily the songs from their classic album Walking With Thee. The title track of that album and "Pet Eunuch" stole the show, as they do in the band's discography as well.

Art punk has never been so good.

If you get a chance, go see Clinic. It's live fever pitch is better than the real thing.

Review by Pat Prince

* Thanks to anglophile John Curley!

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Nicole Atkins & The Sea
5/10/08 — Blend
Ridgewood, NJ

Looking fantastic clad in black and wearing very striking red shoes, Nicole Atkins (pictured above in a photo by Jennifer Tzar) and her band, The Sea, delivered a stellar 70-minute performance at Blend in Ridgewood, NJ on Saturday night, May 10th. Touring in support of her critically acclaimed debut album, Neptune City, Atkins and her band played most of the tracks from the album as well as older material. A great cover of “The Crystal Ship” by The Doors closed the show. Displaying her spectacular vocal skills throughout the show, the stunning 29-year-old Atkins, a Neptune City, NJ native who now resides in Asbury Park, showed why she is a star in ascent.

Atkins is a singer in the real meaning of the word in that she actually SINGS, unlike many of the alleged “singers” of the present who are actually shouters. Performing their second show of the day (they had played an all-ages show earlier in the day at the same venue), Atkins and her band added extra life and color to the studio versions of the songs on her Neptune City album. Particular standouts in the set were “The Way It Is,” “Maybe Tonight,” “Party’s Over,” and “Brooklyn’s On Fire!” Also interesting was “Bleeding Diamonds,” the title track of an EP that was released earlier in Atkins’ career. The crowd sang along quite loudly during the encore performance of “Brooklyn’s On Fire!” which seemed to both surprise and please Atkins.

Atkins is a very skilled performer, her talent having been honed by playing with many different musicians and gracing numerous stages in a lot of venues. When she was not playing acoustic or electric guitar, she used her hands in an interesting way to help paint a word picture of her lyrics. Given Atkins’ training as an artist, that makes a great deal of sense. Atkins has really beautiful eyes as well as a very expressive face, and she would use both to full effect while singing, looking out into the crowd and sometimes gazing at individual audience members crowded in the area in front of the stage, and changing her expression to fit the mood of each song.

Atkins’ stage manner is very endearing. After belting out many of the songs in her set, she would seem genuinely appreciative of the cheers and shouts from the crowd. Atkins would smile somewhat shyly and sweetly say, “Thank you very much” to the crowd.

Blend was packed for Atkins’ performance, much to the relief of Atkins and her band. Atkins told the crowd that the afternoon show was not particularly well attended, and she joked that it felt like she and her band were playing a bar mitzvah. She also told the crowd with mock indignation that, during the interval between the afternoon and evening performances, her band had ditched her to go see the film Iron Man, which was playing at a nearby movie theater.

Atkins played either acoustic or electric guitar on some songs, and did the lead vocal on all of the songs performed. Her band, which Atkins refers to as “the Four D’s” because their first names all begin with the letter “D,” includes Dan Chen on keyboards, Dan Mintzer on drums, David Hollinghurst on guitar, and Derek Layes on bass. They are a very talented band and, to their credit, never tried to overwhelm Atkins’ vocals with their instrumental might. The musical style that Atkins and her band have created is quite unique, featuring Atkins’ 1960s girl-group style vocals mixed with The Sea’s indie-rock/alt-country sound.

There were also two support acts on the bill, Scott Liss and Jenny Owen Youngs.

Liss, backed up by a bassist and drummer, played acoustic guitar and sang the lead vocals during his 30-minute set. He plays indie rock featuring some country stylings, and his sound is somewhat reminiscent of early R.E.M.

Owen Youngs played acoustic guitar and sang lead vocals during her 30-minute set. She was accompanied by Bess Rogers on electric guitar and backing vocals. Owen Youngs’ set was quite impressive, featuring acoustic-based rock with some folk elements. She’s got a great stage manner, and joked quite a bit with the crowd. Particularly funny was her “warning” to the crowd about the numerous F-bombs in her song “Fuck Was I.” Owen Youngs will soon be heading to Europe for a series of shows there, and is definitely an artist to keep your eyes on.

It was a very enjoyable night of music in the suburbs of New Jersey, and for a very affordable price as well. And it was quite a treat to get to see a rising star like Atkins perform in such an intimate space. If Atkins continues to put on performances such as the one she gave at Blend on the evening of May 10th, she won’t be music’s best-kept secret much longer.

Review by John Curley

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Kate Nash
4/23/08 — Webster Hall
NY, NY

As Kate Nash’s popularity has increased, so has the size of the venues that she has to play when her tour hits New York City. Last September, Nash (pictured above in a photo by Sonny Malhotra), a native of Harrow, England, played a few intimate gigs at Joe’s Pub. When Nash returned to New York in January, she found herself at the Bowery Ballroom. On this current jaunt, sponsored by the NME Awards 2008, Nash played two sold-out shows at Webster Hall in the East Village.

I attended the first of the two Webster Hall gigs, and I found it to be wonderfully eclectic. Nash’s song choices ranged from the quiet acoustic to floor-stomping punk. Nash has been miscast by some UK music critics as a flavor-of-the-month disposable pop princess. I would submit that Nash is an artist of considerable depth. And she certainly showed that at the first Webster Hall performance.

Nash was augmented by a four-piece backing band consisting of a guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist. The bassist and keyboardist also played on a mini drum kit during certain songs in the set. Nash herself spent most of the gig seated behind her electric keyboard, though she did perform several songs on acoustic and electric guitars. The 90-minute set mostly consisted of material from Nash’s UK smash album, Made of Bricks such as the megahits “Foundations” and “Mouthwash” and the quirky “Mariella” and “Skeleton Song.” Still, seven songs not on the album were also performed in the main set and encore.

Nash did talk to the crowd quite a bit during the performance. Before playing her beautiful composition “Birds,” she revealed that she had played the song for both of her sisters after writing the song two years ago. Her older sister loved it, while Nash admitted with a chuckle that her younger sister was considerably less enthusiastic. During the encore, Nash revealed that the stonking blast of punk rock titled “Model Behaviour” was written in very angry response to how she had been shabbily treated by a crowd at a London venue. She referred to the London venue where that unfortunate gig took place as a “toilet.”

Nash’s performance of “Model Behaviour” was the highlight of the show for me. The song is an angry, sarcastic, blistering piece of punk that would not have been out of place at London’s 100 Club in 1977. It was actually somewhat shocking to hear the composer of the sweet, quiet “Nicest Thing” to spit out the chorus of “Model Behaviour,” which is “You don’t have to suck dick to succeed!” Nash was stalking the stage during the song like Wendy O. Williams on speed and her band members were doing leaps that would’ve made Pete Townshend proud. In interviews, Nash has frequently cited The Buzzcocks as her favorite band. That influence, while absent from her other songs, is vividly apparent in “Model Behaviour.” Nash’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/katenashmusic currently has “Model Behaviour” in the music player on the page if anyone reading this wants to give it a listen. The song is also the B-side to the UK CD single of “Merry Happy.”

There were several points during Nash’s performance that her backing band was playing too loud. Nash has a pleasant voice but it’s not a particularly powerful voice. During the loud bits, Nash was forced to scream over the sound of her band to be heard. Those parts of the show had the effect of a petulant child screaming to be heard over her classmates in the school playground. When Nash was screaming the lyrics, it ruined the sweet subtleties of those songs. Last September at Joe’s Pub, Nash’s backing band worked with her much better to ensure that Nash’s vocals were on top of the music and not being buried by it. Also, at the Joe’s Pub show, Nash’s band included a very talented female violinist. The violinist is apparently not touring with Nash on this current tour, and that is too bad. She added a great deal to the overall sound at that Joe’s Pub gig, and her absence was felt at the Webster Hall show.

As I stated above, there were some quiet acoustic moments during the show in which Nash got up from behind her keyboard and played guitar. This part of the show was quite unfortunately marred by what had to be the rudest audience that I’ve ever been a member of. People in the audience were chatting so loudly during the quiet parts of the show that it was difficult to hear Nash’s vocals. The audience was mostly in their 20s, and I am no longer in my 20s, but I was really shocked at the tiny attention spans of those people who were blabbing to the person next to them (or worse, into their cell phones) when Nash was trying to perform. Have attentive audiences gone the way of the dinosaur? It was clear to me that Nash was displeased at the loud volume of the chatter in the room. And she had every right to be. It was insulting to her as an artist and performer. And, frankly, it was also insulting to me as an audience member. I paid to hear Kate Nash sing, and not to listen to some semi-drunken cretin yammer into their cell phone while Nash was trying, in vain, to get their attention.

And on the subject of the rude audience members, I had the terrible misfortune of being stuck standing near the most obnoxious of the lot. He was a drunken buffoon who was screaming “I LOOOOOVE YOOOOU, KAAAATE NAAAASH!!!” at the top of his lungs throughout the concert. While Webster Hall is a decent-sized venue, it wasn’t large enough to keep that jerk’s, uh, declaration of love for Ms. Nash from reaching the stage, where it was clear she was not pleased to be the recipient of the idiot’s drunken affection. When the troglodyte shouted during a particularly quiet part of the set, Nash glared at him, appeared to be ready to say something to him in response, and then thought better of it. And good for her! Why give the moron the satisfaction of a response? I sometimes wonder why adults like this guy, who are clearly incapable of behaving in public, can’t just stay home and drink themselves into oblivion and leave the rest of us out of it. He was yelling so much that I missed a good bit of the things Nash was saying in between songs, such as the titles of the new songs. Fortunately, one of Nash’s roadies kindly gave me a set list after the show was over.

Opening the show was a group called The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. Nash had seen them perform in London and was so charmed by their performance that she asked them to open for her on her North American tour. The group is a duo, featuring the father on keyboards, guitar, and lead vocals and the 14-year-old daughter on drums and backing vocals. The mother runs a slideshow as her husband and daughter perform. The quirky lyrics in their songs comment on the images being shown in the slideshow. They weren’t really my cup of tea (I would’ve preferred it if Nash had an up-and-coming UK rock band open her American gigs), but they were okay, I suppose. The father is a dead ringer for the actor Rick Moranis circa the late 1980s.

Webster Hall is a good rock ‘n’ roll joint, with standing room in front of the stage and seating in the VIP areas upstairs. I hadn’t been there in ages, so it was good to be back for a live show. The bar staff and club staff are very cool and don’t treat the crowd with disrespect, as unfortunately happens at other venues in Manhattan.

Given the eclectic nature of Nash’s set, I’m very curious to see what she’ll do next. Going on a full-on punk route with more songs like “Model Behaviour” would probably be career suicide for Nash. But I think it would be interesting for Nash to do some punky-sounding material as a side project. Whatever Nash opts to do as her next project, I’m sure it will be interesting.

Review by John Curley

The set list for the Webster Hall gig was as follows:
Pumpkin Soup
Shit Song
Stitching Leggings
We Get On
Birds
Nicest Thing
I Hate Seagulls
Dickhead
Pick Pocket
Do Waa Do
Paris
Skeleton Song
Mariella
Mouthwash
Foundations
Encore:
Don’t You Want To Share The Guilt
Model Behaviour
Merry Happy

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UFO
4/12/08
B.B. King's
New York, NY

UFO has always been a favorite band of mine. Even after Michael Schenker had left the band after one of the greatest live albums of all time, "Strangers in the Night," I had hung on tight. Guitar replacement, Paul Chapman, was underrated and unappreciated because of being the man that had to fill Schenker's shoes. Chapman's work may not have been Schenker's but it was great in its own right. I ate up the next two albums: "No Place To Run" and "Wild, Willing and the Innocent." Loved both albums. Absolutely loved them. And I couldn't understand why no one else had the same enthusiasm.

It was only fitting for me that UFO chose a song from one of those albums, Long Gone, as the second song of the night. That song is brilliant. One of their most intense and angry numbers. It transported me back to 1982 when I first saw UFO, opening up for Ozzy Osbourne.

This time, however, not only was Chapman and bassist Pete Way (replaced by Sebastian Bach bassist, Rob De Luca) not in the line-up, but Schenker was far gone and not coming back. In the lead guitar slot was Vinnie Moore, 80s metal scale geek. Vinnie Moore is fantastic at what he does — and you would have to be stupid not to recognize his obvious talent — but it wasn't Schenker. And for me, it wasn't even Chapman. One friend of mine called Moore's guitar solos overwhelming, another friend called them antiseptic. Overwhelmingly antiseptic seems to be a somewhat fitting term.

The rest of the band had long-timers there: Paul Raymond on keyboards and guitar; Andy Parker on drums; and, of course, Phil Mogg as definitive UFO vocals. Mogg was looking up in years but sounding wonderful, as if his vocals hadn't aged at all. And all the hits were enjoyable. Hard driving songs like Mother Mary and Let It Roll were pleasant surprises, and Rock Bottom and Doctor, Doctor were greatly expected and well-received to close the show.

I know Michael Schenker is a hard person to get along with — or so I am told — but it would be perfect only if I see the band with his guitar included again. At the very least, before Mogg calls it a day.

Until then it will be a blast but not bliss. 

Review by Pat Prince

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Carbon/Silicon
4/4/08
The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
New York, NY

Having just seen Carbon/Silicon in December at The Highline Ballroom in New York City (see review of that show on this page) and enjoying that show a great deal, I was looking forward to seeing them again this past Friday night, April 4th, at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. And the band didn’t disappoint. They put on another high-energy show to the delight of the crowd.

Opening with “The Magic Suitcase,” a track off of their 2007 release, The Last Post, Carbon/Silicon had the crowd in the palm of their hands from the outset. Band leaders Mick Jones and Tony James seemed to be having a great time during the band’s 10-song set. (The band also includes bassist Leo ‘E-zee-Kill’ Williams and drummer Dominic Greensmith.) Jones spoke to the crowd quite a bit in between songs and even told a joke.

Carbon/Silicon performed a few tracks that don’t appear on The Last Post CD, including a song titled “I Loved You” that Jones claimed was the closest thing to a love song that they’ve ever written. They also did a tune called “Soylent Green,” which Jones stated was one of the first songs that he and James had written together back in 1972. In addition, a cover of a song by The Faces was performed.

Highlights of the show included a ferocious take on “The Whole Truth” and an extended, bluesy read of “Really The Blues.” Other tracks from The Last Post that Carbon/Silicon performed at the show included “The News,” “War On Culture,” and “What The Fuck.”

“Why Do Men Fight?” was chosen for the encore, and it was a good choice. It got a great response from the crowd, particularly when Jones threw bits of The Clash’s “Police On My Back” into the song.

It was a good night of music overall from Carbon/Silicon. They are still touring North America at the moment. If you haven’t seen them yet, make it a point to do so. They are a great live band.

Review by John Curley

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FROM THE JAM
2/9/08
The Blender Theatre at Gramercy
New York, NY

Review by John Curley

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Kate Nash

Virgin Megastore, Union Square,
New York, NY
1/8/2008
 

Kate Nash’s debut album, Made of Bricks, which has been a monster hit at home in the UK, finally received its American release today. To mark the occasion, Nash and her band performed a brief, four-song in-store set at the Virgin Megastore in New York City’s Union Square (corner of East 14^th Street and Broadway). Following the performance, Nash signed copies of the CD as well as posing for photos and chatting with her new American fans.

Nash, a singer-songwriter from Harrow, England, arrived on stage wearing her hair in a ponytail and was clad in what looked to be a schoolgirl outfit that made her look even younger than her 20 years. I had seen Nash perform at Joe’s Pub in New York City in September 2007 (my review of that show is at http://powerlinead.blogspot.com/2007/09/live-review-kate-nash-at-joes-pub-new.html). At that time, Nash seemed a bit overwhelmed by the raucous New York crowd. Tonight, at the Virgin Megastore, Nash seemed more sure of herself onstage and seemed to bask in the adulation of the crowd. Nash sported a big smile throughout the set and pounded her keyboard with great relish. Her backing band is a tight, excellent crew, and they provided a great deal of instrumental muscle throughout the set.

Nash opened the in-store gig with the quirky “Mariella.” The crowd loved it, and Nash appeared to genuinely appreciate the cheers from the audience.

Next up was “Mouthwash,” the wonderful second single from the album in its UK release. The crowd seemed less familiar with that one. I bought the album as an import months ago, so I know with all of the songs quite well. I’m sure that the American audiences will come around to “Mouthwash” when it is released a single here in the States.

Nash’s biggest hit, the spectacular “Foundations,” was the third song played, and it got the biggest response of the night. I noticed many people singing along with it. “Foundations” was a monster hit in the UK and will likely be a big song here in the States as well. It is a brilliant piece of songwriting. I am quite surprised that someone of Nash’s tender age was able to come up with such a compelling song with such incredible lyrics.

Nash ended the set with the bouncy “Merry Happy,” which also drew a big response from the crowd. Quite a few people present seemed disappointed when Nash and her band left the stage after the song. But it was a free gig, and Nash was just following an old show-biz adage: Always leave them wanting more. And judging from the audience reaction to Nash’s short set, they definitely will want to see more of Nash in the months and years to come. While Nash’s performing career here in America is still in its embryonic stages, it’s pretty clear to me, and probably to most of the others present at the Virgin Megastore, that Nash is a star in the making.

Nash opened her brief North American tour in Toronto last night. Tomorrow night, Nash will be performing at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. After leaving the Big Apple, Nash concludes her North American tour with shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Then, it’s on to Australia and New Zealand to perform as part of the various Big Day Out festivals Down Under. (Nash’s full tour dates can be found on her My Space page at http://www.myspace.com/katenashmusic.)

Nash’s Made of Bricks album is a worthwhile addition to anyone’s music collection. Filled with simple but catchy tunes, the album contains songs that are quirky (“Mariella,” “Skeleton Song”), moving (“Birds,” “We Get On,” “Nicest Thing”), and even sardonic (“Dickhead,” “Shit Song.”) It even has a bit of electronica in the opening track, “Play.” Nash sings many of the songs in an exaggerated “chav” accent, which has led music critics in the UK to label her sound as “chavtronica.” While an Anglophile like myself finds that pretty funny, I’m not sure how that’s going to translate in the so-called “heartland” of America. But it probably won’t matter. Lily Allen’s album performed pretty well in the States. I predict that Nash’s album will do even better. And Nash, unencumbered with the visa problems that have kept Allen from performing in America in recent months, can tour here whenever she wants. Given the increasing demands on her time, I don’t think that Nash is going to see much of her home in Harrow this year. I hope for her sake that she doesn’t get too homesick.

Review by John Curley

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Carbon/Silicon
12/5/07 — The Highline Ballroom
New York, NY

Onstage at The Highline Ballroom in New York City last night, Carbon/Silicon’s Mick Jones (ABOVE, LEFT) referred to bandmate and fellow guitarist Tony James (ABOVE, RIGHT) as his “oldest friend.” Jones and James had previously played together in the mid-1970s in a band called London SS before Jones joined The Clash and James formed Generation X with Billy Idol. In the 1980s, Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite and James was part of the heavily hyped (and short-lived) UK band Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The longstanding friendship between Jones and James resulted in them working together again in 2002. That alliance led to them forming Carbon/Silicon, who have recently released their fantastic debut album, The Last Post, after recording a series of singles.

The quartet is rounded out by former Reef drummer Dominic Greensmith and bassist Leo ‘E-zee-Kill’ Williams. (Williams was also a member of Big Audio Dynamite.) Greensmith and Williams are a talented rhythm section and Greensmith, who is probably at least 15 years younger than the other members of Carbon/Silicon, is quite a powerhouse drummer.

Carbon/Silicon hit the stage to a typical raucous New York City welcome. Jones smiled somewhat and joked, “What are you cheering for? We haven’t done anything yet!” Opening their set with “The Magic Suitcase,” the band won over the crowd immediately. After the song, a guy at the front shouted to Jones, “This is real rock n’ roll! This is not bullshit!” Jones, with a huge grin on his face, pointed at him and said, simply, “That guy! That guy!” The audience went nuts.

The band played quite a few tracks off of The Last Post album, including “Caesars Palace,” “War On Culture,” “What The Fuck,” “Really The Blues,” and a sloppy, but spirited version of the album’s lead single, “The News.” They also performed several non-album tracks, including “The Network’s Going Down” and “M.P.Free,” which is the first song that Jones and James wrote together in their 2002 reunion.

Carbon/Silicon fed off the fierce energy coming from the crowd and provided the audience with an absolutely killer performance. Jones and James have formed quite a spectacular guitar tandem, and they put on mock ‘guitar duels’ throughout the concert. After one particularly frenetic guitar exchange, Jones had to sit on the drum riser to catch his breath and wipe his brow. That moment was the only concession to age that I witnessed at the show. Jones and James may both be in their 50s now, but they played with the burning spirit of 20-year-old punks.

The crowd ranged in age from early 20s to maybe 60. There were quite a few people there who probably saw The Clash’s first New York City show. And they all seemed thrilled to see Jones and James do their thing in a smallish but very nice venue like The Highline Ballroom. My only criticism of the show, really, is that it was too loud for a venue of that size. I’m writing this about 24 hours after seeing the show, and my ears are still ringing.

When Carbon/Silicon were leaving the stage at the end of the gig, Jones promised that they would be back next year. I certainly hope they do return in 2008. They are a sensational live band, and still have a great deal to offer.

If anybody reading this review will be in London next month or in February, you might be interested to know that Carbon/Silicon will be playing a Friday night residency at the Casino Club, beginning on January 11th and ending on February 15th. Seeing a spectacular band like Carbon/Silicon in their hometown would be a very special event indeed.

Review by John Curley

Michael Schenker Group
6/24/09 — Gramercy
New York, NY

If you were to browse through some Michael Schenker fan sites you will believe that this was his greatest show ever, and his original singer Gary Barden was — in the words of one site — "outstanding."
Truth is, I've heard Schenker play better, and I've definitely heard Barden sing better.

Schenker seemed like a hall-of-famer getting back into the swing of things — getting reacquainted with the old songs — while Barden struggled with his voice throughout and often let the audience fill in the gaps.

All this aside, it was still worth the ticket.

It has been a long time since I've listened to any songs by the Michael Schenker Group. I had almost forgotten how much I've enjoyed them back in the early 80s. They were electric when they first came out. And they are – I'm glad to say — electric now. I feel embarrassed that I've ever lost interest.

To hear "Armed and Ready," "On and On," and "Attack of the Mad Axeman" again was a lot of fun. But a jam with Leslie West (a Schenker hero) and a well-received blast of UFO's "Rock Bottom" were the highlights of the show, and it only seemed just that they were the encore of the show.

— Review by Pat Prince

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Lily Allen
4/20/09 — Roseland Ballroom
New York, NY

The Roseland Ballroom in midtown Manhattan was packed, hot, and sweaty for Lily Allen’s show there on Monday, April 20th. And Allen created a great atmosphere from the start, with a blistering version of “Everyone’s At It” that began with Allen dancing in silhouette behind a white curtain that was soon dropped to reveal the London-based singer and her excellent four-piece backing band. The word “Lily” was spelled out in huge letters behind the band.

Allen’s show on this tour is much more of a rock show than the two shows that I saw on her last tour, in 2007. Allen’s most recent album, It’s Not Me, It’s You, is guitar and keyboard based whereas her debut album was more ska influenced. Allen seems much more sure of herself on stage this time out than I remember her being in 2007.

Allen performed every song from the new album at the show. Her songs about suffering with lousy lovers drew squeals of delight from the female contingent in the audience. (I wonder how Allen’s penchant for writing songs about her ex-boyfriends affects her love life.) Allen also covered the subject of her absent father (the actor Keith Allen, who plays the Sherriff of Nottingham in the BBC’s Robin Hood TV series) in her song “He Wasn’t There.” She did mention to the crowd that her father was not there for the show. (If I’m not mistaken, Lily Allen’s godfather was Keith Allen’s friend, the late Joe Strummer of The Clash.)

The Roseland Ballroom show was the final show of Allen’s US tour. When Allen revealed that fact, she also asked the audience to be understanding because she wasn’t feeling particularly well. Apart from a few instances of Allen clearing her throat when talking to the crowd between songs, there was no evidence of Allen being under the weather. Her performance was very high energy, and the crowd loved it. Allen danced around so much that her white tang top was drenched with sweat. She cheekily asked the crowd, “Can you see my nipples?” Allen’s frenetic dancing during her performance of “Back To The Start” drew loud cheers from the crowd.

While Allen’s show is more polished than it was on her last tour, she still knows how to have fun. She pulled two guys out of the audience at one point to have an eating contest during one break between songs. As this show was in New York City, the two combatants chowed down on pieces of Junior’s cheesecake. While the crowd favorite was a rotund young guy named Ralphie (the audience was chanting RALPH-IE!!! RALPH-IE!!), the other guy won. And his prize was . . . another piece of Junior’s cheesecake!

While a lot of Allen’s material is about relationships, she is not afraid to cover other, more controversial, territory. Allen introduced the song “Him” by saying that it is about “the man upstairs.” And she went on to say that it did not go over well at all when she performed it in the famously conservative Salt Lake City. Allen joked about tumbleweeds blowing through the hall when she performed the song there. It went over considerably better in New York City, drawing a good response from the crowd.

Allen also pushed a lot of buttons with her song “Fuck You,” which was the closing song of the main set. “Fuck You” is Allen’s take on the legacy of George W. Bush. It’s a terrific, melodic piece of music with absolutely scorching lyrics. Allen encouraged the crowd to dance around with their middle fingers aloft as she sang the song. And most in the crowd obliged. It was a beautiful moment of democracy in action.

The opening song of the encore was Allen’s biggest hit to date, “Smile,” and it also received the best reaction of the night. The first single from the new album, “The Fear,” followed, and also got a good hand from the audience. I was really knocked out by the final song of the night, which was a supercharged cover of Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.” I am not a fan of Spears’ music at all, but Allen has managed to take the song and make it her own.

Allen’s set was 80 minutes in length and featured a 15-song main set and three-song encore.

I hope that Allen continues to play standing-room shows as her star continues to rise. The ability of the crowd to dance around as they please at her performances adds such a fantastic atmosphere to the show. If the show were in a seated venue, it would have been altogether different.

The opening band at Allen’s Roseland Ballroom show was the five-piece, Seattle-based synth-pop outfit Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. Despite their odd name, they were really terrific. They got the crowd going from the start, and their 30-minute set was very well received by the audience. I will definitely keep an eye on them in the future.

The set list for Lily Allen’s April 20th show at the Roseland Ballroom was as follows:

Everyone’s At It
I Could Say
Never Gonna Happen
Oh My God (cover of song by the Kaiser Chiefs)
Everything’s Just Wonderful
Him
Who’d Have Known
LDN
Back To The Start
He Wasn’t There
Littlest Things
Chinese
22
Not Fair
Fuck You

Encore:
Smile
The Fear
Womanizer (cover of song by Britney Spears)

— Review by John Curley
_________________________________

Nicole Atkins &
The Sea
11/14/08 — Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY

Opening her show on Friday, November 14th at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom with “Party’s Over” was kind of odd choice for the New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins. Because at that point, the party had just begun.

Delivering an absolutely killer 90-minute set, Atkins and her crack backing band, The Sea, gave the crowd a very memorable performance. During the show, Atkins announced that it was their last performance with keyboardist Dan Chen. Atkins and the band seemed determined to give Chen a proper sendoff, and they came through with flying colors. The show had a loose, party-type feel to it. Atkins invited several friends of hers join her and the band on stage, including an old school friend who, she told the crowd, had never sung in public before. Jamie and Leah from opening band Nouvellas also served as backing vocalists for Atkins on several songs.

Looking stunning clad in a black dress and boots, Atkins showcased her powerhouse vocals in tunes both old and new as well as a terrific cover of Eric Clapton’s “Bell Bottom Blues” that closed the show. Nine songs from Atkins’ debut album, Neptune City, were featured in the set, including “Maybe Tonight,” “The Way It Is,” “Cool Enough,” “War Torn,” “Love Surreal,” “Brooklyn’s On Fire,” and “Kill The Headlights.” Several quite promising new songs were also performed.

Prior to performing the opening song of the encore, “Neptune City,” Atkins told the crowd about how she once fell onto her backside while performing the song at a club in New York City and delivered the rest of the song sitting down. She went on to say that, in sympathy, the audience also sat down on the floor. She asked the Bowery Ballroom audience to sit on the floor to listen. After some initial reluctance due to spilled beer on the floor, the crowd obliged. Atkins sat on a monitor at the front of the stage and sang a good bit of the song while seated there. It was spellbinding. “Neptune City” is a really beautiful song anyway, but the seated atmosphere that Atkins created added a great deal to the power of the song.

In addition to departing keyboardist Dan Chen, The Sea include Dan Mintzer on drums, David Hollinghurst on guitar, and Derek Layes on bass. They are a great group of musicians, and provide Atkins with a brilliant backdrop for her vocals. I hope that as Atkins starts to play larger venues, as a singer with her considerable talents inevitably will do, she doesn’t lose that great connection that she has with the audience. Atkins should receive some credit for trying to bridge the gap between herself and the audience and, at many times, seems like a fan herself. I suppose that her forthcoming second album will have a lot to say about where her career goes from here. The new songs that Atkins performed at the Bowery Ballroom show made me want to hear more.

Atkins should also get some credit for not allowing an incredibly obnoxious audience member to derail her performance. I had the misfortune to be standing near this cretin who kept yelling, “WE LOOOOVE YOU, NICOOOOLE” and was generally an annoyance to everyone who was standing in his vicinity. A lesser performer might have been rattled by that, but Atkins, who has performed in New York City many times (and has probably heard it all), let it roll off her back. She did joke about it at one point with Dan Chen while she was standing near her open microphone, so the entire audience heard the exchange. That was pretty funny.

I arrived at the Bowery Ballroom at about 8:30 p.m. and was not happy when I saw the posting of the set list times. Nicole Atkins & The Sea were not due on stage until 11 p.m. That meant that I would have a two-and-a-half hour wait to see them, and would have to suffer through two opening bands that I’d never heard of. I could not have been more wrong.

The two support bands—Nouvellas and Salt & Samovar—were both fantastic, and they made those two-and-a-half hours fly by.

Nouvellas are a five-piece from New York City fronted by two female singers and also include a guitarist, bassist, and drummer. They performed a very engaging 35-minute set featuring retro-sounding rock. Their performance really knocked me out and made me glad that I had arrived early. Nouvellas’ single “Satisfied” is one of the best new songs that I’ve heard this year. I don’t think it will be long before they are headlining venues like the Bowery Ballroom.

Salt & Samovar also delivered a great set. They are a five-piece from Brooklyn, and it appeared that they had quite a contingent of fans with them.

On the way out of the Bowery Ballroom after the show, I saw Atkins on Delancey Street and got her autograph. It was a nice ending to what had been a great night of music.

Nicole Atkins & The Sea are playing The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ on the evening before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 26th. If you’re going to be in the area that night, check out the show. You will not be disappointed.

— Review by John Curley
 

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Paul Weller

10/4/08 — Paradiso
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

POWERLINE A.D. NOTE: In early October, a group of Paul Weller’s fans from points all over Europe converged on the beautiful city of Amsterdam to see Weller’s show at the Paradiso and to spend time in the company of fellow Weller fans. Two of the fans that attended the Paradiso performance—Sally Jones of South Wales and Andy Nykolyszyn of Nottingham, England—have provided Powerline A.D. with its first international review of a live show. Sally wrote the introduction and Andy wrote the gig review. Powerline A.D. is grateful for the review, and we thank Sally and Andy for their efforts. From their descriptions, it sounds like Weller was stellar once again.

Introduction by Sally Jones:

He came, he saw, he conga’d. The juggernaut that is the Paul Weller live experience pulled into Amsterdam on an unseasonably mild Autumn Saturday and sent punters home with an even warmer glow after a mighty performance in front of a packed Paradiso audience. Amsterdam is a fantastic place for a tour and is always popular with so many Weller fans from the UK. A short flight and you land in this place that consists of canals, trams, scooters and Push bikes….thousands and thousands of push bikes. The locals cycle everywhere because the place is so flat. Wherever you look there are bikes strewn across the streets, and they haven’t changed the design of them, it would appear, since the 1940s. It’s a very interesting city, very laid back and different to anywhere I’ve ever visited before. 

Anticipation was high amongst the gathered throng in the bars of Amsterdam and even though we live hundreds of miles apart, many of us fans in the UK greeted each other yet again. Many of us have met many times before at various places in the UK and Europe. Each tour, we recognize the same faces time and time again, and keep in touch regularly. Over recent years, many of us have become great friends and the atmosphere when we get together is lively, friendly, and never disappointing. Our weekend started off on the Friday evening before the gig with just a few of us meeting up. Andy (who wrote the gig review down below) from the Nottingham, myself (Sally) from Wales, Chris and Tracey from London, and Taus and Pier from Denmark. Although I knew Andy and Chris, no-one else had met previously. However, what a night we had. It felt as though we had all known each other forever!! Eventually strolling in at 4 a.m. proved not to be such a clever idea on waking on the morning of gig day but thankfully felt back on track in time for a great night ahead. Approximately 25 of us met up for pre-gig drinks and it was great to catch up with people we knew from previous gigs and others whose names  I’d recognized from various Weller sites and Weller’s MySpace etc. 

Review by Andy Nykolyszyn:

The hardy travellers who’d been in attendance the previous night in Brussels told of a short-ish set in comparison with recent sets, no Style Council tunes but thankfully no “You Do Something To Me.” As we made our way to the idyllic setting that is the Paradiso, a real sense of expectation could be tasted. A quick wander by the merchandise stall told us only that he’s taken his eye off the ball on that side of things, but as the great man always says “It’s all about the music” and the next 100 minutes only went to reaffirm that.

It’s 20:40, the lights go down, and a huge cheer erupts. Bounding on stage like kids at Christmas, it’s clear that the band are well up for it. We’re off and running and a furious “Peacock Suit” has the crowd on the front foot. A blistering salvo of “Sinking/22 Dreams/Eton Rifles/All I Wanna Do” and “Floorboards” leave the crowd breathless. The newly installed tubthumper, Steve Pilgrim, breathes life into Weller’s 1979 single with a performance brimming with energy and dynamics. After a routine “Sea Spray,” we were treated to an adventurous performance of “One Bright Star,” slightly speeded up from the album version but capturing its beauty perfectly. A further delve into 22 Dreams gives us “Empty Ring,” a wonderfully lazy “Black River,” and a mighty mighty “Have You Made Up Your Mind,” the band being blessed with four fantastic backing vocalists and this tune in particular highlights that fact.

A trip back to 2000 and it’s “Picking Up Sticks,” complete with Pilgrim drum solo. Huge compliments have to go the man because in Steve White he had enormous shoes to fill, and despite an obvious sense of disappointment at Whitey moving on from the Weller camp, Pilgrim has filled the void perfectly. Not attempting to Xerox the style that Whitey laid down but putting his own stamp on proceedings and its all the better for it. It’s onwards to a heartfelt “Wishing On A Star,” and then we get a live run out of probably 22 Dreams’ most talked-about track, “111.” If ever a song divided opinion this is it, but with Andy Lewis up the front on the cello and a battle of Moogs taking place behind him, it’s a typically brave choice that just about falls the right side of successful. On come the stools and we get the acoustic section with all five band members up the front, strumming away to “All On A Misty Morning” and an exquisitely dramatic “Butterfly Collector.” A real hush descends over the crowd as Weller tells us all over again that “This world’s insane and we’re all to blame in a way.”

Then we hit the highlight of the night (well for this writer, anyway), a stripped-down, dubbed-up, and mashed-up “Wild Wood.” Weller, shorn of his guitar, cuts an isolated figure up the front which sits perfectly against the doom-laden feel of the song in this setting. For a song that was in danger of sounding stale live, this new arrangement has breathed new life into it and is now an essential part of the set. No acoustic guitar, lots of Brendan Lynchy bleeps and wails in the background, and an almost one drop reggae beat help to lift this classic song to new and heady heights. The main set closes with a blistering “Echoes” and “Come On/Let’s Go” and it’s “Thanks, g’night.” A deafening roar of approval goes up from the packed and appreciative audience and it’s not long before the band are back on and launching into “Wild Blue Yonder,” an epic “Whirlpool’s End,” and a familiar but totally appropriate “Town Called Malice” where the Paradiso floor was bouncing like a space hopper. That’s it. No more, the lights come up and a sweat-drenched audience file out into the Amsterdam night having been witness to another in the long line of classic Weller gigs. An overwhelming sense of approval is apparent, the new band have bedded in now and the fruits are obvious to see. A looser feel (step forward Mr. Lewis and Pilgrim), Craddock’s guitar work now compliments his bandmates work whereas previously it may have dominated it, and Andy Crofts’ keyboards cut through sweetly. As for Mr. Weller, he looks on top of his game and obviously re-energized by the new band and all that they bring to the party.

As for me, I disappeared into the night, happy, inspired, and ready for more. However, not quite ready for my bed just yet, myself (Andy) and Taus from Denmark decided that we should make the most of the last night in Amsterdam and continued onto more bars. This proved to be a great idea, as when strolling back to the American Hotel at 3 a.m. we spotted a familiar figure leaning against the entrance. It was indeed Mr Weller and Andy Crofts. In a little tipsy state I asked him, “Paul!! When are you going to make the sequel to Jerusalem?” Some fans may not know what I’m talking about here; however, Style Council fans such as myself will know exactly what I mean. He laughed and said a few words joking that it’s in progress. After Taus and Weller had a photo, we walked away. On passing by us, Weller tapped me on my elbow and said, “You B’sard,” and laughed. What a way to end a great weekend.  No doubt it won’t be the last. Here’s to the next one.
 

--------------------------------------------

Paul Weller

9/10/08 — The Nokia Theatre, Times Square,
NY, NY

9/11/08 — The HighLine Ballroom,
NY, NY

By the time that most music artists reach their 50th birthday, their best days are long behind them and they more or less coast on what they did many years in the past. The same cannot be said of Paul Weller, who passed the half century mark this past May, given his absolutely astonishing performances in New York City this week. Playing with a mostly new band, Weller seemed completely revitalized and performed with the same vigor that he did as a teenager with The Jam over 30 years ago. Weller, often cast as a prickly sourpuss by the UK music press, seemed to be having the time of his life on stage during the two shows in the Big Apple.

Weller performed at The Nokia Theatre Times Square on Wednesday, September 10th and then moved about 30 blocks downtown the following night to play the 700-capacity HighLine Ballroom in Chelsea. Touring in support of his latest album, 22 Dreams, Weller played with a band that includes his longtime collaborator Steve Craddock (who also plays with the UK band Ocean Colour Scene) on guitar as well as newcomers Andy Lewis on bass, Steve Pilgrim on drums, and Andy Crofts on keyboards. It is a very talented and versatile ensemble indeed, as they proved when they all played and sang during an acoustic interlude at Wednesday night’s show. Even drummer Steve Pilgrim played a guitar and sang during the acoustic bit. It was impressive. Many longtime Weller fans, including myself, were somewhat concerned when the news broke that Weller would be putting together a new touring band and wouldn’t be working this time out with his longtime drummer, Steve White (who had been with Weller since the days of The Style Council), and his longtime bassist, Damon Minchella. My fears were put to rest at the Nokia Theatre performance. Weller seemed livelier at that show than I had ever seen him before, and the new ensemble breathed new life into many of the older songs. The band’s rendition of The Jam’s “The Butterfly Collector” during the acoustic portion of Wednesday night’s show was spellbinding.

Weller and his band kicked off the Nokia Theatre show with a rip-roaring version of “Blink And You’ll Miss It.” The renewed vigor in Weller and Craddock was immediately evident as both men stormed around the stage and exchanged terrific slash-and-burn guitar licks. For the next hour and 45 minutes, Weller and his capable crew of musicians blew away a crowd which seemed to be a mixture of New Yorkers and Britons, based on all of the British accents that I was hearing in the crowd. Highlights of the show included searing versions of “The Changingman” and “Wild Blue Yonder.” One of the biggest hands of the night went to the performance of “Shout To The Top” from Weller’s Style Council days.

The most interesting bit of the show was the performance of the radically reworked “Wild Wood.” The song, one of the signature tunes of Weller’s solo career, now sounds like a hybrid of trip-hop and psychedelic blues. It was outstanding. Weller sang the song standing at his microphone without a guitar while puffing quite vigorously on a cigarette. The way the lights hit the cigarette smoke swirling around Weller’s head created an interesting visual effect that worked very well with the trippy feeling of the song. (Both Weller and Craddock smoked quite a bit onstage during the show, which is against the law in New York City.)

The acoustic part of the Nokia Theatre show featured the band sitting on chairs at the front of the stage. Three songs were performed in this fashion—“The Butterfly Collector,” “All On A Misty Morning,” and “Brand New Start.” It was really fantastic and served as quite a contrast to the rest of the show.

Kelly Jones of the UK band Stereophonics joined Weller and his band onstage for the three-song encore. (It appeared that many in the audience didn’t know who Jones is.) Jones sang a bit of The Jam’s songs “That’s Entertainment” and “The Eton Rifles” that were performed as part of the encore. Both songs were crowd favorites and went down a storm. Steve Craddock’s playing during “The Eton Rifles” was absolutely incendiary. He was doing windmills that would’ve made Pete Townshend jealous. A cover of The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” closed out the Nokia Theatre show.

At the Nokia Theatre, Weller and his band played a 20-song main set with a three-song encore. Given the unbridled ferocity of the show, I was interested to see if the 50-year-old Weller could pull it off again the following night.

Which, of course, he did.

It would have been easy for Weller to play the same exact set at both New York City shows. To his credit, he didn’t. In fact, the set lists were considerably different on both nights. The acoustic part of the show that had been performed at the Nokia Theatre show was dropped from the set list at the HighLine Ballroom performance. The HighLine Ballroom show featured a 16-song main set with a three-song encore.

It should be stated that the opportunity to see an artist of Weller’s stature in an intimate venue like The HighLine Ballroom just could not be passed up. Adding to the special nature of the night was the fact that the members of Oasis, minus the recuperating Noel Gallagher, were in attendance at the HighLine Ballroom performance. Oasis were due to play a special show in New York City the following night, but that show was cancelled due to the fact that Noel Gallagher had not recovered suitably from injuries he sustained when assaulted by a stage-invading fan in Toronto. And two members of Oasis ended up playing parts in Weller’s performance that night. Guitarist Gem Archer played with the band when they did “Echoes Round The Sun.” (Archer had played on the song on the album; the song was co-written by Noel Gallagher.) During the encore, when the band was performing “That’s Entertainment,” Liam Gallagher strutted onto the stage and approached Weller’s microphone. The crowd thought that Gallagher was going to sing. Instead, he motioned to Weller and said, “He’s the fookin’ man, isn’t he?!? COME ON!!!” The crowd went berserk and Gallagher, smiling and satisfied, strutted right back off the stage. It was classic.

The entire HighLine Ballroom show had a party atmosphere. The crowd was in great spirits as was Weller. Weller’s glee was evident when, during the performance of “Picking Up Sticks,” he got up from the bench in front of his electric piano and started doing an impromptu dance to the delight of the crowd. Watching Weller dance around, sporting a big grin with a cigarette clenched between his teeth, it was obvious that we were witnessing a performer who still digs it after over 30 years in the business. And Weller’s enthusiasm was infectious, as I saw many in the crowd sporting big smiles as they were filing out of the venue after the show. I have had the great fortune to have witnessed several really great live gigs this year, by The Enemy, The Kills, The Subways, Nicole Atkins, and others. You can see those reviews on this page. But Weller’s two New York shows topped them all. At age 50, Paul Weller is an artist at the peak of his powers. Long may he rock.

Both of Weller’s New York City shows were opened by The Rifles, a four-piece Mod/power-pop band from Walthamstow, London, England. Performing songs from their debut album, No Love Lost, including “She’s Got Standards,” “She’s The Only One,” and “Peace And Quiet,” as well as new songs from their forthcoming second album, The Rifles won the crowd over during their 30-minute sets before both shows. I was surprised to discover that The Rifles don’t yet have an American recording contract. If they keep playing great sets like the ones they performed when opening Weller’s New York City shows, it won’t be long before that situation changes. They’re a good band, so getting this exposure on Weller’s tour can only help them build a fan base here in America.

Review by John Curley

The set list for Paul Weller’s Wednesday, September 10th show at The Nokia Theatre in New York City was as follows:

Blink And You’ll Miss It
22 Dreams
The Changingman
All I Wanna Do
Out Of The Sinking
Sea Spray
Wild Blue Yonder
Empty Ring
You Do Something To Me
Have You Made Up Your Mind
Shout To The Top
Porcelain Gods
Picking Up Sticks
Broken Stones
The Butterfly Collector
All On A Misty Morning
Brand New Start
Wild Wood
Echoes Round The Sun
Come On/Let’s Go
Encore (with Kelly Jones of Stereophonics):
That’s Entertainment
Eton Rifles
All You Need Is Love (cover of song by The Beatles)


The set list from Paul Weller’s show at The HighLine Ballroom in New York City on September 11th is below:

Out Of The Sinking
Shadow Of The Sun
All I Wanna Do
From The Floorboards Up
Sea Spray
Wild Blue Yonder
Empty Ring
You Do Something To Me
Have You Made Up Your Mind
Porcelain Gods
Picking Up Sticks
Wishing On A Star (cover of song by Rose Royce)
Wild Wood
Echoes Round The Sun (w/Gem Archer of Oasis on guitar)
Come On/Let’s Go
Whirlpool’s End
Encore:
Broken Stones
That’s Entertainment (w/appearance from Liam Gallagher)
The Changingman

________________________________

Bon Jovi

7/14/08 — Madison Square Garden
NY, NY

Last week the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium was the main event, but as far as music is concerned, Bon Jovi owned New York City. He was the center of attention during the weekend with a free concert in Central Park, and then he packed them in at Madison Square Garden. To tell the truth, I do not recall a more enthusiastic full-capacity crowd at MSG as there was last Monday. Of course, this was his home turf (well, close enough). He used to hawk t-shirts in front of the Garden when he was a young teenager. And he had attended many concerts there himself as part the audience. This place is like a second home to Bon Jovi.

Bon Jovi practically lived on the pages of Powerline in the late 80s/early 90s. His music was not as mature as it is now. His songwriting back then danced around the popular glam movement of the day. But his heart and soul had always been blue-collar, a more pop-oriented Bruce Springsteen — his childhood hero. So when he finally played "Living On a Prayer," the sugar coating shed itself to a more heartfelt story of struggling to make it in the land of shaky promises. The song was always a working man blues at its core, no matter how much of a suburban mall sing-along it became on pop radio. It is one of the highlights of the Jovi show. Not one to be caught at the concession stand or waiting in line for the bathroom.

Other classics held up well. Bon Jovi and his band are professionals, consummate workers, tight and on-time. And it was such a surprise to me how fantastic Richie Sambora's guitar playing was. I had never noticed it before. I had always taken it for granted, I guess, and the man knows how to play the strings truthful and emotional. There's a reason why he's such an important part of this band. Without him, the band would cease to be, as much as it would with the loss of its singer and moniker man.

There were downpoints, too. Let's get back to sugar, and its over-coating. "Bad Medicine" for one has always been a hated song of mine. And live it fared no better for me. The full screen strippers came out, their images dancing skyscraper tall. But it seemed so staged and saccharine. I always wondered: was this really Bon Jovi. The lewd and crude conviction of the song is more Motley Crue than a singer that has a little more loyal husband depth than "Girls Girls Girls." And, not only that, the song can't hold its weight to the sounds of a classic like "Girls Girls Girls." Not even close. Guys don't request "Bad Medicine" at strip clubs ad nauseum. And, "Bad Medicine" has always been average at best, as third-grade as any generic pharmaceutical you were afraid to take. Bad medicine indeed.

But Jon Bon made up for it. He played for a loooong time. As he summed up the night himself, “Nothing but hits, baby.” Even if it is supposed to be the Lost Highway tour, you can't ignore all those hits.

Review by Pat Prince

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Adele

6/10/08 — The Highline Ballroom
NY, NY

Since I last saw the London-based singer-songwriter Adele perform, which was at New York City’s Joe’s Pub on March 17th (see my review of that show below), much has changed in her life. For one thing, she has left her teen years behind, as she celebrated her 20th birthday on May 5th. Her stellar debut album, titled 19, has been released domestically here in the States. She has assembled a large touring band. And her fan base has grown considerably. Her June 10th show at The Highline Ballroom on West 16th Street was packed. A second show, on June 11th, also sold out.

Having had a busy day already (Adele appeared on NBC-TV’s The Today Show on the morning of June 10th), Adele bounded onto the stage to a huge roar from the packed house and led her band through a spirited, bouncy version of “Right As Rain” to open the show.

Adele confessed to being a bit tired, having to be up very early for the Today Show appearance, as well as being somewhat nervous. She also told the crowd that she was homesick and had flown her mother in from England to join her on tour. (Her mother was in attendance at the Highline Ballroom show.)

Not having much experience performing before large crowds, Adele told the audience that she didn’t have a lot to say to us between songs. She then proceeded to speak quite a bit in the breaks between songs, talking about topics as disparate as buying her first pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes (she’s apparently quite a fan of Sex and the City) and her growing love of Bob Dylan’s work. She’s also quite funny, and joked with the crowd on numerous occasions. In a funny faux New York accent, she substituted the American “sidewalks” for the British “pavements” at one point during the performance of her hit single “Chasing Pavements.”

With the show being in New York City, the crowd was quite boisterous, and were shouting out things between songs. Adele seemed quite amused by this, and would answer back to the things that audience members were shouting. She asked a few people to repeat the things that they were shouting at some points because she hadn’t heard them the first time, and walked to the lip of the stage several times to address some of the people at the front face to face. She even answered me back at one point. When she announced that she was going to perform a cover of “Dreaming of You” by The Coral (which is one of my favorite songs), I shouted, YEEEAHHH! THE CORAL!!!” Adele looked in my direction, smiled, and said, “Sounds like we’ve got a fan of The Coral here tonight!

Adele was in fine voice throughout the show. Her backing band was also excellent. The band included a drummer, bassist, electric guitarist, and keyboardist. In addition, there was a four-piece, all-female (and quite attractive) string section. Adele played acoustic guitar on a few of the songs, including a stunning solo take on “Crazy For You.”:

While the studio versions of the songs from Adele’s 19 album are great, they sound even better live. Adele is a very engaging performer. I’m very glad that during the quiet bits of the show, particularly when Adele was accompanying herself on the acoustic guitar, the crowd was quiet and attentive. Adele seemed pleased by that, and even remarked at one point about how well behaved the crowd was during the quiet parts.

Adele’s set was about 60 minutes in length. The main set included nine songs and was followed by a three-song encore.

In addition to talking about Bob Dylan (she performed a cover of Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” on her 19 album as well as at the Highline Ballroom show), Adele also spoke of her growing interest in the music of Etta James. She performed a fantastic version of James’ “Fool That I Am” during the encore. Given Adele’s young age, it will be interesting to watch her grow as a performer and songwriter as she becomes more aware of both her own talents and the music of the great songwriters of the past.

The venue in which the show was held, The Highline Ballroom, is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to watch music in New York City. The sightlines are excellent and the sound at Adele’s June 10th show was crisp and clear.

It was a great night of music. I particularly liked the fact that there was no opening act to suffer through. Having seen Adele twice now in concert, I am thoroughly impressed with her as a singer and performer. Her voice is remarkable, and she is quite spirited. I think she’s going to be a big star in the not-too-distant future. When she starts to play larger venues, I hope that she will be able to maintain the great rapport that she currently has with her audience. I look forward to seeing her live in concert again.

Review by John Curley

The set list for Adele’s June 10th show at The Highline Ballroom was as follows:
Right As Rain
Melt My Heart To Stone
Daydreamer
Dreaming of You (cover of song by The Coral)
Cold Shoulder
First Love
Make You Feel My Love (cover of song by Bob Dylan)
Tired
Hometown Glory
Encore:
Crazy For You
Fool That I Am (cover of song by Etta James)
Chasing Pavements

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Eric Burdon

5/4/08 — The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
NY, NY

Eric Burdon showed no concession to age during his latest New York City show, which took place on Sunday night, May 4th, at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. He is still full of piss and vinegar, railing quite vociferously against the Iraq War and the Bush Regime during his set.

Touring in support of his most recent release, Soul of a Man, Burdon mixed new material, such as the album’s title track and a song titled “Kingsize Jones” with the better-known material from Burdon’s days with the influential British Invasion band The Animals. Burdon and his tight backing band opened the show with a drawn-out, quite bluesy take on The Animals’ “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” Other hits from The Animals’ songbook that were performed during the concert included “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” “House of the Rising Sun,” and “It’s My Life,” which was the encore song. A cover of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom,” which also had been recorded by The Animals, was performed during the show, as were covers of tunes by Ray Charles and Jimi Hendrix.

Unlike many of his 1960s contemporaries, Burdon has lost none of his anti-establishment feelings. He made this known during “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” when he started to discuss the protests against the Vietnam War during the 1960s and tied that to his feelings about the current war in Iraq. Burdon took it one step further when, during an absolutely spectacular take on “House of the Rising Sun,” he held up a T-shirt that someone in the audience had handed him. On the T-shirt was a photo of George W. Bush and the words “International Terrorist.” To further emphasize his point, Burdon furiously raged about Bush’s utter failure to aid the citizens of Burdon’s beloved New Orleans in the aftermath of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Burdon added even more fuel to the fire by saying that he hoped Bush would have “a fuckin’ heart attack.”

Since “House of the Rising Sun” is set in New Orleans, Burdon’s rage about how the city was let down by Bush and his equally inept cronies seemed perfectly understandable. However, many of the ex-hippies in the audience are now grandparents and are apparently more conservative than they used to be. Some of them booed when Burdon vented against Bush’s New Orleans debacle. These same people looked on quizzically when, at the close of the concert, Burdon urged the crowd to start a “revolution.”

Burdon’s New York appearance was sponsored by the New York City classic rock radio station WAXQ-FM (Q104.3), which is owned by communications monolith Clear Channel. Since Clear Channel is a well-known supporter of Republican causes, I wonder how the Suits at Q104.3 felt about Burdon’s on-stage comments. I can’t imagine that they were too thrilled. There certainly is nothing “revolutionary” about Q104.3’s stale playlist.

Burdon’s backing band included Hilton Valentine (the only original Animal besides Burdon still in the band) and Billy Watts on guitars, Paula O’Rourke on bass, Tony Braunagel on drums, and Red Young on keyboards. They are a very tight band indeed. Valentine’s guitar intro to “House of the Rising Sun” actually gave me chills. It was superb. My only complaint is that some of the songs dragged on a bit too long. The great thing about many of The Animals’ hits in the 1960s was that they were so sharp and punchy. Padding the songs by featuring musicians in the band doing mini-solos makes the songs lose some of their original bite. Then again, Burdon has been performing some of these songs live for about 45 years. I suppose if the songs were performed in their original manner over and over, Burdon would’ve lost interest long ago.

The opening act was The Reverend John Delore, who delivered a crisp 35-minute set of good blues-tinged country rock. Delore played rhythm guitar and sang lead on most of the songs. The lead guitarist sang lead on a few of the songs. Delore’s band also included a keyboardist, bassist, and drummer.

I’m curious to read other reviews about Burdon’s New York show to see what each reviewer will write about the things Burdon was saying on stage. I do think that much of the crowd has settled into a comfort zone in their middle age in which there is little to no room for the “revolution” that Burdon urged those present to undertake. It is incredibly refreshing to know that while Burdon’s contemporaries are selling their music to Apple Computers and various versions of the CSI TV franchise, at least one veteran of the original British Invasion of 1964 still has his rock-solid ideals intact and isn’t selling out to anybody. Expressing the ideas that Burdon did onstage probably won’t win him many friends in certain circles during these politically correct times. (I wonder how Burdon’s comments go over in places that are far less liberal than New York City.) But for those who actually still give a damn about what the politicians are doing to this country (and to the world in general), Burdon’s angry and vitriolic words were like a rainstorm on a parched desert.

I had never seen Burdon live before the May 4th show. I came away from the concert quite impressed with Burdon as a performer. But I was even more impressed with Burdon as a human being. I listened intently as Burdon talked about hanging out with James Brown in 1960s Harlem and of the war protests in New York City in the late 1960s. Burdon tried to tie what was going on in the 1960s to the terrible things that are being done by our government today, and part of his anger seemed to stem from the fact that the idealism of the 1960s apparently has gone the way of the dinosaur. Burdon implored that we need to get that idealism back if anything is ever going to change. And to that, I can only say, “Amen, brother.”

Review by John Curley

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The Kills
5/1/08 — Webster Hall
NY, NY

Alison Mosshart, a Floridian, and Jamie Hince, a London native, the duo that comprise The Kills, met by chance when staying at the same hotel. Mosshart, unhappy with the band in which she was a member at the time, heard Hince playing his guitar in the room above hers and, intrigued by what he was playing, went up to his room to speak to him. They began working together soon after, and Mosshart moved to London to make the partnership workable.

It may have been fate that brought Mosshart and Hince together. Whatever the reason, their partnership is a rock-solid one, which they displayed in grand style on stage at New York City’s Webster Hall on Thursday night, May 1st. To put it simply, The Kills absolutely killed.

Touring behind their stellar third album, Midnight Boom, The Kills delivered a scorching set that combined material from their first two albums with songs from the new release, such as “Tape Song,” “U.R.A. Fever,” and their hit single “Cheap and Cheerful.” (iTunes used “Cheap and Cheerful” as its free single of the week about a month-and-a-half ago.)

Performing before a screen showing images of seminal bands like Television, the Velvet Underground, and the 1960s Rolling Stones, The Kills put on a high-energy show to the delight of the packed, hot, and sweaty audience. A drum machine and synthesizer fill out the sound of The Kills that features Hince on guitar and Mosshart on vocals. (Mosshart also played rhythm guitar on a few songs.) Their show was quite impressive, with the images on the screen and the music meshing together quite well. And Hince’s guitar work should get a special mention. He is a phenomenal musician, and he uses feedback to his advantage, creating an explosive wall of sound.

The Kills’ performance was halted at one point due to an incident backstage. There apparently was a small fire that needed to be dealt with. The Kills were performing when a New York City firefighter in full gear suddenly appeared on stage. An official from the venue then strode up to Mosshart’s microphone and told the crowd that the show would have to be halted temporarily so that the firefighters could deal with the problem. The official handled it pretty well. Nobody in the audience panicked, and there was no need to clear out the hall. The house lights came up for about 20 minutes while the problem was dealt with, the audience was thanked for their patience, and then The Kills returned to the stage. Without missing a beat, The Kills picked up where they had left off. It wasn’t long before The Kills had the audience back in their grasp, which is a testament to their immense talent.

The Kills’ amazing performance stood in stark contrast to that of the two support bands, The Child Ballads and Telepathe. The Child Ballads featured a singer who fancied himself as something of a drunken poet. He was rambling incoherently while the band played on behind him. They were tedium personified. Still, The Child Ballads’ set was better than that of the second band, Telepathe. Telepathe delivered a set filled with dirge-like synth music. They were abominable. When a terrible band performs before the headliner that you actually paid to see, it just makes the wait to see the headliner interminable. Telepathe’s set lasted about 30 minutes, but it felt like 10 hours.

It is to The Kills’ credit that they made the memory of the first two bands’ performances a distant one and gave the audience a spectacular show filled with one blistering song after another. The Kills are touring North America through May 28th. If anyone reading this has the opportunity to see them live, by all means go. They will knock your socks off.

Review by John Curley

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Jolie Holland
4/16/08 — Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY

On Wednesday, April 16th, folk-blues artist Jolie Holland (pictured above in a photo by Vern Evans) opened a three-week Wednesday night residency at Union Pool in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg section with a performance that was quite well received by the packed house. Performing a 14-song set and a one-song encore, Holland played both old material and some new songs from her upcoming album, The Living and the Dead, which is due to be released on ANTI Records in September. (Full disclosure: One of my brothers is married to Jolie Holland’s twin sister.)

Following a stellar support performance by her friend Jan Bell, who is from Brooklyn by way of Yorkshire, England, Holland took the stage and gave the crowd its money’s worth. Opening with a track from the upcoming album, Holland seemed amused by the song requests and other things that the audience members were shouting throughout the gig. At one point, she told the crowd a funny story about a dream she had in which she was married to Naked Lunch author William Burroughs.

Accompanied throughout the gig by drummer/bassist Shazad Ismaily, Holland was joined onstage for several songs by her former bandmate in the Be Good Tanyas, Samantha Parton. For the last three songs of the main set, Holland had several friends, including Parton and Bell, join her on stage. Holland revealed that last night’s show was the first time that they had all performed together.

For the encore, Holland chose a cover song titled “Fathers Have A Home” and performed the song with Parton and Bell.

Holland has a pretty devoted following in the New York City area and, whether she was performing new material or her better-known songs such as “Old Fashioned Morphine,” she commanded the audience’s attention.

I’d never been to Union Pool before. I liked it as a venue. It’s a pretty funky place, well-suited to the young arty hipster types who are suddenly populating Williamsburg in droves. It is the perfect venue for music of the style which Holland performs. I hope to see more shows there in the future.

Holland’s Wednesday night April residency continues for the next two Wednesdays—April 23 and 30. The cover charge is $12.00, which is a bargain these days for a night of quality live music.

Review by John Curley

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Adele
3/17/08 — Joe's Pub, NYC

Adele took the stage at Joe’s Pub alone on Monday night, and she told the crowd that she was battling both nervousness (as the gig was her first in both in New York City and the United States) and a bad chest cold. After this admission, she proceeded to play a stirring solo acoustic version of “Daydreamer,” the lead track from her debut album, 19. It was a good way to start the show, and the enthusiastic reaction from the crowd to the song probably put Adele’s nervousness to rest.

Born Adele Adkins on May 5, 1988 in London, Adele is only 19 years old. But her rich, fantastic voice would fool you into thinking that she is much older in that it sounds as if it comes from years of experience. Like Kate Nash and several other British singers to make recent breakthroughs. Adele attended the BRIT School in Croydon, England, from which she graduated in May 2006.

Joe’s Pub, as anybody who has been there knows, is a small, rather intimate venue. The stripped-down show that Adele presented at the venue really highlighted her voice. As good as Adele’s voice sounds on the 19 album, it was even more incredible live at Joe’s Pub, her chest cold notwithstanding.

After starting the show accompanying herself on an acoustic guitar, Adele was then joined by an acoustic guitarist. Later in the show, a keyboardist/pianist joined them on stage. The trio performed in various incarnations through the rest of the 50-minute, 10-song show.

Adele performed most of the songs from the 19 album at Joe’s Pub. For me, the highlights of the show were pretty amazing performances of the tracks “Chasing Pavements” and “Crazy For You.” The crowd roared their approval after both songs had concluded.

In addition to those tracks and the set opener “Daydreamer,” Adele also performed her own “Right As Rain,” “My Same,” “Melt My Heart To Stone,” “First Love,” and “Hometown Glory.” Adele’s first single was “Hometown Glory,” and the song, her best-known tune on this side of the Atlantic, served as the set closer.

Adele also performed two covers during the show.

The first cover she did was “That’s It, I Quit, I’m Movin’ On,” which is a Sam Cooke song. Adele confessed to the crowd that she first heard the song while riding in a car with her best friend, singer-songwriter Jack Peñate. Adele went on to say that Peñate told her that he wanted to do a cover of the song, but she liked the song so much that she decided to beat him to it. And a good choice it was, sounding fantastic on stage at Joe’s Pub.

The other cover was of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love,” which is included as a track on the 19 album.

Overall, the show was a stellar American and New York City debut for the spirited 19-year-old Londoner. She did have some minor problems with feedback and shot a few glares at the soundman in hopes that he would fix the problem immediately. Apart from that, though, Adele shone like the star that she will doubtless be on this side of the Atlantic in the near future.

Since Adele’s album is not yet available domestically in the States, this trip to North America was of the “get your feet wet” variety, and includes another New York show, as well as single shows in Los Angeles, Montreal, and Toronto. Adele will probably do a larger-scale tour in America later this year when her album is released domestically.

Currently, two Adele songs—a radio edit of “Hometown Glory” and “Best For Last”—are available domestically for purchase from iTunes. (“Hometown Glory” was iTunes’ spotlighted free single a few weeks ago.)

Adele recently was given the Critics’ Choice award at the BRIT Awards in London, which is the first of probably many awards that she will capture in her career if she continues to give performances such as the fantastic one that she gave on a mild St. Patrick’s Day evening at Joe’s Pub in New York City.

After the show, I hung around a bit to finish off my pint of Stella and to make some additional notes for this review. Downing the rest of the beer and satisfied that I had enough material to write this review, I headed off. And who should I bump into outside the venue but the star of the show, Adele, who was having an aftershow cigarette on Lafayette Street. Since Adele appeared to be relishing the smoke, I only chatted with her briefly. She seemed pleased with the way the performance had gone and thanked me for coming to the show.

I then made my way home with the knowledge that I had witnessed yet another amazing show in New York City by yet another amazing artist from the British Isles. As it was St. Patrick’s Day evening in New York City, there were a few glassy-eyed Amateur Hour drunks roaming the streets. Usually, that would bother me. But nothing would wipe the smile off of my face. I had just seen a star in the making, and I will not soon forget that performance.

Review by John Curley

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P.J. HARVEY
10/10/07 — Beacon, NYC

This might sound too simplistic, but if I had to sum up PJ Harvey’s solo performance on Wednesday, October 10th at the Beacon Theatre in New York City with one word, that word would be WOW.

For 90 minutes, Polly Jean Harvey held a sold-out Beacon Theatre absolutely spellbound. Performing without her band in her first New York City concert since 2004, Harvey, clad in a floor-length ruffled white dress similar to the one she wears on the cover of White Chalk, her latest CD, played several instruments and was accompanied at times by a drum machine. Harvey performed several songs from White Chalk, including the amazing “When Under Ether,” on piano with hushed vocals. As a stark counter to this, at other points in the show, Harvey strapped on an electric guitar and bashed out the chords to powerhouse rock songs like “Man-Size” and “Rid Of Me.”

While the audience was quiet when Harvey was performing, they were quite raucous in the breaks between songs. Harvey seemed to delight in the things that audience members were shouting. She sported a big grin throughout the concert and seemed positively giddy. When someone shouted, “I love your dress!” Harvey stated that the person who said that probably couldn’t see that she had the lyrics to the songs handwritten all over her dress as a concession to “age.” It was pretty funny, and elicited a good response from the crowd.

Polly Jean Harvey is one of the shining lights of the music industry today. She is a chameleon, and clearly not afraid to take chances. While many artists stick to the tried and true, Polly Harvey seems to change her musical style with every new album. Given the tenuous state of the record industry these days, this is a very risky way to operate indeed. But in Harvey’s case, it works. She hasn’t got a huge fan base here in America, but the fans that she does have in the States adore her and admire her for wanting to try different ideas musically. This was clearly in evidence at the Beacon Theatre show. The audience roared their approval after every song, and I saw a lot of smiling faces filing out of the venue at the end of the show.

This visit to America by PJ Harvey was limited to only two shows for some reason—the Beacon Theatre gig and a show on October 15th in Los Angeles. And that is kind of a shame. While that did make the Beacon Theatre show very special, one has to feel kind of bad for Harvey’s fans that don’t live on the East or West Coasts and were unable to witness Polly Jean’s magical night of music. I feel privileged to have been able to attend Harvey’s show at the Beacon Theatre. It was one of those really great gigs that you get to see every now and then, the ones that leave you tingling from head to toe as you exit the building and serve as a fantastic reminder of why you fell in love with music in the first place.

I can’t wait to see what PJ Harvey does next. Whatever it is, I will certainly be there again to see it.

Review by John Curley

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Van Halen
11/6/07 — DCU Center, Worcester, MA

After David Lee Roth left Van Halen in the mid-80s, I vowed to never see the band live until Roth was back. I had no interest. Roth and the Van Halen clan — despite their differences — were always the perfect match. Well, my vow paid off (for the most part). I never got to suffer through the years of Sammy Hagar fronting the band — and, as you know — the band have reunited with their original frontman.

I say "for the most part" because Roth is a little older and a little slower in his movement on stage. He's doesn't exactly have the Ozzy gait going yet but the rock gymnastics ala 1980 are long gone. He's still Roth, though; a great showman. A man of rock wardrobe changes, charisma, and a natural vibe with the audience. You never get bored with Roth on stage. Only once did he falter a bit. When the band played the classic Hot For Teacher, Roth carried it more like Bill Murray of SNL than Diamond Dave of 1984. It was the only downside of the night — and Eddie Van Halen saved it with the song's brilliant guitar solo.

It was amazing how much ground they covered in two hours. The band played almost the entire debut album; forgetting one of the greatest HEAVY songs of all time: On Fire. In a way, I'm almost glad they didn't play that song. On Fire belonged to the Van Halen of 1978, when the youth and energy were so high it was like a drug itself. There was no way they could ever capture that feel. That song is literally a memory (or DVD) time-capsule.

Wolfgang Van Halen was a perfect fill-in for bassist Michael Anthony. It was a special additive, too. The energy between father and son was a special amenity to the show. Eddie seemed to feed off his kid's passion, it seemed to breathe new life into the hard-living guitarist's flair. And as far as Eddie's guitar playing, well... it was Eddie. Just as good as you would expect him to be. It is almost as if you could hum with glee every guitar lick, solo, and sound through every song. 

The highlights had to be Atomic Punk, Running With the Devil, and surprisingly, Panama. Never a big fan of Panama (probably due to Classic Rock radio over-exposure), the song won me over with its tight groove and OTT reaction of the crowd at hand. But my favorite moment was when Roth took solo with acoustic to sing Ice Cream Man. He worked it perfectly; strumming and articulating an introduction of how, why and when he wrote this song. He told a story of a hot summer night in 1972 when he replaced his friend Kenny's ice cream truck inventory with beer; blessed with details of rock aspirations and lazy fun. He was paving the way to the revolutionary rock music we now know as Van Halen.

Review by Pat Prince