The Heavy & Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings @ The Crystal Ballroom

What a good show. Hot damn. Two weeks later and I still have these songs stuck in my head. Unfortunately, we were running late. Obligatory pre-concert-pre-partying (beers and fries at Ringler's a must!), and, since it's Portland, the shows actually start when they say they will (8 o'clock MEANS 8 freakin o'clock!). We finished our brewskies at 8:35ish or so, and stood out front a bit for some mandatory smokes (no re-entry! no smoking on the premises! what to doooo!). Some chap dressed in purple descended from the black-windowed tour bus parked out front, we figured he was staff, or a roadie, not in the band, cause the show had already started and all band members should be backstage, right? So we chat, he bums a cigarette ("I love menthol!") we chat some more, we find out we all went to rival private schools in the NYC area and he's only a couple years our senior. He asks if we like the band, I say yes, we like them, and that it was good Sharon Jones went on the Colbert Report cause it got her a lot of publicity (lots of "theys" and "hers" etc on my part of the conversation) and then he lifts up the ID tag hanging round his neck with the most recent Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings album cover on it, points to a figure, and says "that's me." Well, that was a surprise. Didn't act it though, I mean c'mon, what are we, teenage girls that are gonna jump up and down and squeal "ooh we met a musician! sign my cleavage!" no. We are classy New Yorkers who don't get their feathers ruffled so easily (nonchalance!). We wished him a good show instead. But hey, we met a Dap-King, so that was pretty neato.

So we made our way inside, and The Heavy were unfortunately on their last song (tragedy!) but it was my fav, and Mary Liz's fav, so we were happy. It's most recognizable from those kia sorento commercials. But I'll post the band's actual music video here:

I'm sure the rest of their set was great, and I'm so sorry I missed it :( Anyway. I'm not sorry we missed it for beer and fries. Those we NECESSARY. Plus, the line inside for beer was bananas. We stuck to the all ages side cause the 21+ area was completely packed, and it felt over 80˚ inside, full of people, lots of heat for sure.

A long intermission, then the Dap-Kings came on, and they started to get us going again for a few songs, (we recognized our buddy up there, post-wardrobe change) until one of the guys started really revving us up by introducing Ms. Sharon Jones for a few minutes until finally she came out, in a lovely black flapper-esque dress, all frills and dangles that picked up her every movement.

And hot damn does that woman know how to MOVE! (she sure can sing, too!) They played mostly songs off their new album, some of their older ones, but the show lasted for over two hours. Sharon Jones kept bringing male audience members up to the stage to sing to for a few songs, one of the guys was totes adorbz, she asked if he had a girlfriend, and her name, and then she sang about how to treat a woman.

Then towards the end she grabbed some gals from the front for a dancefest on stage, and then let them dance one at a time off the stage again. The girls seemed to love it, and the audience cheered.

The crowd was incredible, and when the band left the stage we all kept clapping and cheering and stamping our feet for more so that finally the Dap-Kings came back and played some tunes (including The Four Tops' "Reach Out I'll Be There," to which I could not help but sing along) and then FINALLY Sharon Jones came back out on stage to sing some of their other hits ("100 Days 100 Nights" and the like). Truly phenomenal show. I can't wait to see them again in August.

Concert Series ahoy!

OMG this shit is sick. Check it out: George Clinton & Parliament on July 12. Salt-N-Pepa on August 2. Aretha bloody Franklin on August 9. And then there's the Seaside Summer Concert Series, Neil Sedaka and Brenda Lee on July 15, Beach Boys July 22, George Thorogood & The Destroyers July 29, Aretha Franklin AGAIN on August 12, and the B-52s (and Belinda Carlisle!) on August 19. And the best part is? All these shows are FREE!

I think my summer's set.

Sherlock's Daughter & Warpaint @ The Mercury Lounge

Late post considering this show happened on June 14....meh.

Australian band Sherlock's Daughter was the first one up, and they were phenomenal. Adorable Aussie accents, the singer was cute as a button, both her fashion and her personality. I really liked their music, couldn't stop moving. At one point they asked the crowd if anyone was watching the soccer (Australia had unfortunately recently lost to Germany 4-0, much like this most recent Argentinian defeat) and I swear I was the only one in the crowd to shout out "yeah!" (what a bunch of stuck-ups!)

Sherlock's Daughter!

Then Warpaint came on, and they were all drop dead gorgeous, and some sleazy bastard told one of the band members to take her shirt off (totally out of context, made no sense, total sleazeball). Took no pics of them unfortunately, mostly cause I was pissed off at the quality of photos that were coming out of photographing Sherlock's Daughter I didn't even want to bother anymore. They covered all the songs from their album "Exquisite Corpse," "Elephants" came last of course. They were fantastic, even though one of them claimed to have lost her voice we couldn't tell. They even switched around their instruments, bassist became drummer, and vice versa. Really good show, very ethereal.

I was disappointed Sherlock's Daughter had no CDs to sell at the venue, but they are selling them online (direct from Australia!). Anyway. Incidentally, Sherlock's Daughter are playing a show tonight at The Cake Shop at 8. I highly recommend them.

The Flaming Lips @ Wellmont Theatre

Holy shit. If I had only one band to choose to see in concert it would be The Flaming Lips. Best concert I've ever been to, no contest. Friendly people, which makes sense: Flaming Lips fans are some of the friendliest people I know.

Words cannot do this concert justice. The music, the atmosphere, the smoke, the GIANT balloons filled with confetti that would POP in an explosion of rectangular colored shreds of paper, the dense cloud of pot - so thick you couldn't even smell the person next to you sparking up. And oh, the visuals, the fantastical videos they had, drippy gooey egg yolks, and naked dancing ladies, and naked drum-hitting ladies, and naked ladies dancing on the beach, and laughter, and love, and everything all around. I'm still glowing from the show. Wayne Coyne is super duper sweet to boot, sang happy birthday to Gillian or whomever, their travelling t-shirt seller. Too bad Corina and I didn't have time to get t-shirts, they had some funny ones ("when I smoke pot, I don't want to kill myself", and the like). But we had to make a mad dash to the train, as the following wouldn't come till 5 in the morning (uh-ohs!). And we totally got away with not buying tickets on the return trip. Hey, it's not my fault if the ticket lady walked right by while I was on the phone...

All in all, I want to see them again, and again. Summer stage is sold out, of course, but that doesn't mean we can't go and picnic in the park while they're playing!

Setlist from the night (approximate):

The Fear
Worm Mountain
Silver Trembling Hands
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
The Sparrow Looks up at the Machine
In the Morning of the Magicians
Happy Birthday!
Watching the Planets
I Can Be a Frog
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1
See the Leaves
Powerless
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
Taps - Tribute to PEACE
She Don't Use Jelly
Convinced of the Hex
Encore 1:
Brain Damage (Pink Floyd cover with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs)
Eclipse (Pink Floyd cover with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs)
Encore 2:
Do You Realize??


AFTERGLOWING HAPPINESS PURE JOY AND LOVE YAY!

Concert fail

No Akron/Family show tonight. In Oregon. Cannot make it to Williamsburg, obviously.

Uch, I wish I could see these chicks perform live:

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly jealous of Barry & Corina seeing Warpaint and Akron/Family tonight.

Buddy Guy

Aaaah! Buddy Guy has a show in May! Holy CRAP and OMG!

Ticketmaster can bite me

She & Him sold out in two minutes. TWO MINUTES. Is that even POSSIBLE? Both shows? And now scalpers are selling tickets for $100+ which is ridiculous. Good news though is that they'll be coming out with another album in March (the songs of which, I'm sure, would be performed at their shows). Maybe I'll swing by the theater on that Monday night after class anyway, maybe someone will be selling tickets, or something. Maybe. SO lame Ticketmaster, you laggard.

Oh yeah. Other good news: I got my ticket for The Flaming Lips show in April (which was NOT available through Ticketmaster, and probably why I was able to get a bloody ticket), which is awesome, and they're sold out too (which DOES make sense). Still need to get a Spoon ticket, though...

*Update 1/31*
Aaaaaaaand there are no longer any two seats together for the Spoon concert. Oh well.

March is Music Month

OK. Of COURSE Joanna Newsom's sold out already. Pfft. Already got tix for Akron/Family, She & Him goes on sale the 29th, still need to get Spoon & Magnetic Fields. And in other musical news: Oh No Oh My is apparently coming out with a new album Mid March (!) Eeeeeep! March is going to be bananas, music will be coming out of my ears (and pouring into them).

*Update later same day*
And to ADD to the ever-growing list of concerts in March, there will now also be The Flaming Lips and Air. Oh my goodness, I just don't know what to do with myself!

Shows to See

Sooo many favorite bands are coming into town! Joanna Newsom, Josh Ritter, Spoon, and The Magnetic Fields, oh my!

I absolutely MUST see Spoon. I've been listening to them since high school, have not seen them live once. Same with The Magnetic Fields. Must must MUST see at least those two.

*Update 1/24*

Aaaah! She & Him! She & Him! (!!!!!) She & Him have a show now, too! OK. Absolute necessity to see She & Him. Are you kidding? The last time they toured was in North Carolina or somewhere not near me at all, and oh my goodness, there's no way I'm going to miss their show.

You're the Greatest #1 (Mirah @ the Bowery)

Mmmmm, Mirah. Unbelievably adorable is she. Norfolk & Western kicked off the evening, great sound, didn't see a Victrola, the band members played every instrument switching amongst themselves, some even played two at once (trumpet + piano!). Mirah chimed in for their last number, cute as a button of course. She sang a lot of songs from (a)spera, recognized a couple from my brief listen-through before the show. I wish I'd jotted down which songs she played, I listened to her so much before and after the concert I'm sure I'm mixing up what was really on her setlist. She played most of (a)spera, and a bunch of songs from C'mon Miracle ("You've Gone Away Enough," "Exactly Where We're From") and Advisory Committee ("Mount St Helens," "Light the Match," and "The Garden"). "Light the Match" was wonderfully burlesque-ish, red lit stage, what a performer she is! She encored with a song (that I cannot remember either) that melded into "The Garden," much to my delight. She was sublime, acknowledged the audience, cute and bubbly, modest "thanks," and had Norfolk & Western join her towards the end of her set as well. Marvelous performances. Her voice is spectacular. Exudes such warmth.

Mason Jennings @ MHoW

If there was an over-arching theme to tonight's concert I would say stand-up-for-your-rights-angry-love. Love mostly. Even the songs protesting the war and the previous president were really about love. And the angry ones had love within them too. He encored with "Ballad for my One True Love," cracked on the same note twice, laughed at himself, v cute. No "Nothing," nor "I Love You and Buddha Too," but "Big Sur," "Your New Man," and "Duluth" made up for it. His new songs were great, went over really well with the crowd, opened with "Pittsburgh" and "The Field" (accompanied by a shout from the audience: 'that's the best song ever!'). Closed with "Blood of Man" before the encore. A wonderfully cathartic evening.

Coney Island: Really Fun. REALLY OPEN.

Wait a minute here. Wait just a gosh darn minute. Coney Island = OPEN? (omg omg omg!) And the Cyclone, too?? Hot damn!

And then: are you fucking shitting me? These concerts are FREE??! Pissed I missed Creedence Clearwater and Gladys Knight. But, there's Frankie Valli, Connie Francis, frackin' Blondie, Pat Benatar, and the Donnas! Holy shit man, holy shit.

Fighter Girl

I cannot get you out of my head, Mason Jennings.

The concert was great, and I'm glad I arrived late as he didn't go up until 10:45 and otherwise I'd have been trapped in the Roseland Theater for two hours (no re-entry policy = poopers). He opened with 'California II' followed by 'Nothing,' much to my joy and sorrow. Joy because I love his music ('Butterfly' and 'Be Here Now' were played as well as a couple songs off the upcoming album, including 'Fighter Girl' and 'Your New Man' - the latter was absolutely hilarious), and sorrow because his lyrics and his music (and obviously 'Nothing') remind me of...absolutely no one in particular...

But it was great, even though it was disgustingly hot and I couldn't even take in a bottle of water. I can't wait for the new album.

The weather has been splendiferous all weekend, and for the last two nights I've slept outside under the stars. No tent, just the sleeping bag. And my star chart. I didn't sleep at all the first night, couldn't sleep, and the sun rose so early (at 5:30) that the sun made it impossible, so I went to sleep in a bed at around 7 or so. Last night I did actually fall asleep under the stars, and it was wonderful - if I could I would move my bedroom outside. But, owing to the sunny sunny spot I slept in I awoke with a sunburn on just the left side of my face (nose and cheek) and neck. Who woulda thought to go to sleep with sunblock!