via NYPost
“Before this weekend’s Reading and Leeds Festivals, the event’s head honcho Melvin Benn made some big noise about hitting the legal curfew by making sure headliners Guns N’ Roses would actually show up to sets on time — despite a long, proud, riot-filled tradition of that never ever happening. “The stories of Axl Rose turning up onstage late are the thing of legend,” said Benn, “but I’m led to believe [Axl's] got a new manager and I’ve been given wonderful assurances it won’t be an issue this time.” So did Gun N’ Roses actually show up to Reading and Leeds sets on time?

Of course not! Friday at Reading the band went on an hour late, and Benn — either motivated by vengeance, a potential fine, or a theoretical life-long dedication to rules in general — cut them off at curfew time. So what happened? GNR refused to leave, pushing forth into “Paradise City” with only some acoustic guitars and a megaphone. Wow!

Axl then threatened that the band wouldn’t play Leeds, but they did — and again went on late, and again were cut off. Tweeting this morning, Axl writes “So u know, we allegedly had a deal in place pre show w/the city at least at Leeds to do a bit longer performance that was either miscommunication, someone wasn’t informed, changed their mind, didn’t care or was a con… We hope the fans feel they got at least what they could from us under the circumstances as 4 us all things considered that’s the main thing” (Benn denies any deal being in place). Why is the world so against Axl giving his fans what they want? Sure, if the set had just started, GNR would have finished — but this is a g*ddamned rock-n’-roll band! They don’t start their shows on time!“

Almost forgot about this.

I went to check out The Clipse show at HIRO Ballroom here in New York last month.

It was a pretty good show. The opening acts were pretty decent. However, The Clipse, were by far, the best on the bill. As they should have been.

I saw a bouncer throw a cocky dude down the hallway as I was leaving. That was my favorite part.

And she SUCKED! Sorry if you are a fan (I mean it. I am sorry for you if you are a fan of her), but it wasn’t even close to good. She once had a good voice but today she was dreadful. Unabashedly bad.

And then she dragged her daughter out on stage. That didn’t help matters much. Her daughter kept repeating “clap your hands” a demand which no one in the capacity, standing room outside venue took to heart. Mainly because she said it so unenthusiastically that no one really believed that they had to. And they didn’t. So they did not.

In short, I don’t know if this is a return of Whitney, because truthfully I didn’t know that she had gone anywhere, but for the people who were going nuts for her in the crowd…they may want to re-consider their choices in female quasi-pop talent.

Because she sucked.

Pete Yorn played a great set last night to a packed house in Minneapolis at the Fine Line Music Cafe.

Pete actually has the ability to make girls eyes glow with lust when he sings to them.

Other than looking a little blurry, he put on a fantastic show!

As an added bonus, Malaysian Micro-Sensation Zee Avi opened up for Yorn. Zee belted out smooth and sorrowful melodies set to finger snapping drum n bass and she plucked along on her guitar (named Monty) and her Ukulele.

Pocket Genius has been on a short (8 year) break since they were actively playing the Minneapolis Rock scene. Last week we caught them at the Uptown Bar playing some new material and testing out their stage legs again.

All these years later…the band had no problem with Rock n Roll. Here are a few pictures from last week’s show.

Cory Docken & Colin Murphy from Pocket Genius

Pocket Genius at The Uptown Bar

Be sure to check out: pocketgenius.net for more!

The band will rock the Hexagon Bar July 18th with All The Way Rider, The Central Division, and The Great Shark Hunt.

It hardly feels like 7 years since I was beating my hands across my desk to the beat of “Grindin’”, but like it or not, time has a way of changing some people. Luckily for us who enjoyed that infectious Virginia Beach sound, the ever-revolving calender has been kind to The Clipse who last night rocked a standing-room-only Webster Hall Studio crowd as the brothers from the V-A set the mood right for another big summer.

Choosing mostly to pull selections from their 2006 album Hell Hath No Fury (as well as their cleverly titled 2008 crew collaboration with Re-Up label mates Clipse Present: Re-Up Gang), biological brothers Malice and Pusha-T kept the capacity crowd on its feet and with hands waving. Allowing the crowd to fill in the hook left vacant by Slim Thug, The Clipse turned up the tempo on the radio anthem “Wamp Wamp (What It Do)” and the is-it-or-is-it-not pot shot at Lil Wayne with “Mr. Me-Too.”

Arguably the biggest moment of the night was when the boys announced that they were going to take it back to where it all started and the beat dropped on the aforementioned “Grindin’.” While eyes quickly scanned the room to see if hook-deliverer and close associate Pharrell Williams would make an appearance, thoughts of that cameo were quickly forgotten and the duo carried out the track like the trunk-rattler it always has been.

They closed-out the show with the new single (featuring a man who was barely even a name-worthy producer when Grindin’ came out, Kanye West) “Kinda Like a Big Deal” and if this performance showed anything, it is that The Clipse are still at the top of their game and ready to take their place atop the hip-hop game.

Sometimes, Ben Wallace sings vocals.

Poor Malice…he appears concerned. Forgetting your setlist? Been there.

Staring contest. Ready? Go!

The interwebs weren’t kind to me yesterday when I wrote the post on the Mates of State / Black Kids tour coming to Minneapolis.  Here are a couple videos from my oh-so-not-steady hand. Thanks (and sorry) to all the short people behind me who had to look around my camera in the air.  Enjoy!

Black Kids - Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance

Mates of State - My Only Offer

“Come on everybody it’s Easter Sunday…let’s Dance for Jesus!”  Reggie - guitar & vox for Black Kids - shouted to the crowd.  Sunday night was one of the best live shows I’ve been to in a long time - I hadn’t seen Mates of State perform live ever, and Black Kids have been all over my radio lately telling me that they don’t want to teach me how to dance - which is cool with me, because I have some moves of my own anyway.  Needless to say, I was excited for the show. 

But when I set out to write my review of the show, I thought I might take a glance at what others were saying too. I was amazed when I checked the twitter stream from last night, reading what other people–who were no doubt standing a few feet from me–were saying about the show

So in the spirit of rockworms being an “open source” music blog (in other words, we’d rather have you write our articles because you’re prolly better at it than me): here are some twitter-tastic highlights from last night:

Black Kids Tweets:     
 

Charizzl Black Kids; terrible band name, adorable band.about 8 hours ago
winstonbongo Euphoric and breathless. Black Kids owned that set. Wow. In fanboy awe. 8:16 PM Apr 12th
iheartsharks Black Kids were amazing! 8:10 PM Apr 12th  
CakeIn15 From casual listening and promo pictures, didn’t realize Black Kids lead was a guy. Huh. 7:53 PM Apr 12th
jsather At black kids and mates of state. They should fire their sound engineer. 7:41 PM Apr 12th

Mates of State Tweets:

MSPdude Mates of State put on an awesome show. Will def. catch them again. “Re-arrange Us” is going to be stuck in my head for a bit.11:23 PM Apr 12th
josway Mates of State + @VarsityTheater = Awesome 10:47 PM Apr 12th

  saramontour I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t even that excited to see Mates of State tonight, but they totally rocked it and put on an awesome show.10:21 PM Apr 12th

Staciaann 4 drummers on stage for last song. Mates of State are fucking awesome!!9:33 PM Apr 12th

I will just throw in my two cents as well - while I thoroughly enjoyed both performances, there was a clear difference in stage presence and energy from the veteran Mates of State, to the new (black) kids on the block.  The sound at the varsity is usually pretty good, but @jsather wasn’t too far off when he said Black Kids should fire their sound engineer.  Their pop-dance-synth-n-bass sound was all muddied by Reggies guitar.  Still, they are touring their butts off, and I’m sure they will hone their craft and I hope the continue to make great music!

*Updated: Check out Videos of Black Kids “Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend to Dance” and Mates of State “My Only Offer.” (I couldn’t fit’em on this post)

Thanks to mitch, staciaan, justin and Gan who posted some great pics (all of which were better than my blurry ones)!

More often in a review, you breeze through where it is, and its location based experience.  Good as this show was, we’ll get to it in a minute. My Brandi experience is heavily colored by the might Alltel Center.  Brandi even commented within her show that their current tour brought them to many small venues and this was their first show in a hockey arena.  However, part of my experience had nothing to do with Brandi.  I had the luck of sitting next to two fine women who were in their seats due to the connection to the band.  One of the women had grown up with the twins in the band (Tim and Phil Hanseroth, for those non-Carlile followers).  They were a delight, even if she admitted she hadn’t spent time with the guys in many a year, she was a delight and i thank her for the chat.  Ice venues and old friends aside, lets move on to the show.

Brandi Carlile is a folk artist who is somewhat of a female crooner, and this came shining through last night.  On a tour that had been chosen to be acoustic (which in a folk rock group means drummer-less , the voice of her and her two part harmony twins was great.  Phil Hanseroth was especially good laying down an acoustic body bass, which i am always proud of in an acoustic show. Pounding through 15 songs and a 2 song encore, she didn’t cease to entertain and converse with the crowd, telling them how fun of a crowd it was.  Considering this was the largest point of their tour so far, that is most likely quite true.  All the favorite hits were there that needed to be to fulfil a happy audience.

In an acoustic show some experimenting is always good to keep the audience happy.  From singing three part harmony on one mic to a ukulele only song, to going completely unplugged, she kept us part of the show even in a big venue.  Let me go back there.  When i say she went unplugged, i mean she quieted the crowd down, and she and the Twins proceded to play at the front of the stage, mic-less.  Only in a crowd so respective of a musician could this work.  And work it did.  “Have You Ever”, “What Can I Say”, and the crowd pleasing “The Story” were all there and all resulted in crowd singalongs.

Now, as Brandi told us in her interview with us earlier last week, they are a live band first and foremost.  Regardless of the fact that she announced a new and upcoming CD, the band stayed true to its live roots by throwing down 5, count’em 5 covers, througout the night. Her covers from her live Boston show were still there, giving us a great rendition of “Creep” by Radiohead, and even drumless, a great cover of “Folsom Prison”, compensating the lack of a drum section by bringing out the opening band to help by laying down banjo and fiddle.  Starting her encore with her traditional “Hallelujah”, what impressed me most was her Beatles bookends.  One of the first songs to start the night was “I’ve Just Seen A Face”, to which my new friend, the lady next to us aptly stated “I wonder if anyone knows this is a Beatles song?”.  Of course they do, I’m sure they saw Across the Universe.  What surprised me most was their final song of the encore.  With Brandi, Tim and Phil each taking a verse, the band closed out the show on an emotionally high note with their version of “Let It Be”.  It was serene, beautiful, and a great way to end the night.

I wish I had more negative to say about the show.  I’ve heard it makes your review more legitimate.  So, in a slight attempt to do so, I can say this.  The opening artist, Gregory Allen Isakov, is fine I am sure in smaller shows, but his solo guitar, and occasional backup violinist, seemed awkwardly small in the big arena.  Also, I would state that though a distortion effect on a mic is obviously a personal choice, I would say this.  We already have a Bob Dylan, and one is enough thanks.  To Alltel Center, spend some change, get a spotlight.  Intelligent Lights only go so far, and when you dim the stage to a blue effect and the artist is dark, that’s called bad form.  To Brandi and the band, sadly for you that is where my bad ends.  Every time I have seen you in concert, I have been impressed.  It is the most engaged I have ever been for a band without a drummer.  Thank you for that.  Keep up the good work.

Brandi’s work is available now on iTunes, and available through Amazon.com.  If you are new to her, I would suggest her Boston EP.  Its a good 4 song smattering of what you should know about her if you want to dip your foot in the water.

Ahh, the Ting Ting’s at the Varsity Theater.  There can be no better small time venue.  There is nothing quite like waiting for a show in a comfortable easy chair.  That and the decorations of the theater.  Even the Ting Ting’s remembered it. “We’ve played here before, and we remember the town because Prince is from here, and it looks like Prince decorated in here”.  But enough about the locale, this is about a show.

What a show it was. First off, let me give a quick shout out to the opener.  A three-female-MC’d group called Hottub was great.  Whether you enjoy a synth bass beat, or crunkin’, they did exactly what an opener should do.  Get on stage.  Entertain, jump around and get you excited.  Then promptly end and mill with the crowd.  Fantastic.

So after a brief pause.  The Ting Ting’s.  Let me just say on the front end that never before and i most likely never again, will i be this positive of a two person group’s live show.  Arguement can be made by some people that there were samples involved, but those people need to shut up and enjoy just how talented these two are.  Katie White, performing vocals, guitar, and for a brief instant a giant drum, is spunky, upbeat, and exuberantly moves about the stages even though it is her job to also keep up half of the rhythm.  Let’s however, take a moment to look at the other Ting. Jules De Martino is the poster child for any music prodigy that wants to also be cool.  I have never seen anyone open a show playing drums, guitar, and sing, SIMULTANEOUSLY.  With only two musicians available, Jules selects with almost surgeon like skill which instruments need to be included and which don’t to give the best live sound.

The show was great.  It ran what might have been considered short to some, running at a little over an hour, but for an all ages show with a $15 price tag, it was worth every cent.  They moved seamlessly through the songs, pounding through nearly every song, never giving you a moment to get down off the high.  A, and i do mean A slow song was nicely slipped in to let you breathe, revel in their awesomeness for a second, then get ready to go another round.  They smartly ended their show with hits “Shut Up and Let Me Go” at the tag, and new breakout smash “That’s Not My Name” to close out the encore.  And as a last note, i’ll admit, any band of this level that comes out with a sampler and throws down a mini-mash up medley of Aerosmith, Sugar Hill Gang, and, wait for it, The Ghostbusters theme, will always get a few points in my book.  They’re great live and you’ll love the album.  The album “We Started Nothing” is available in stores everywhere, on iTunes and Amazon.com.  The album may say they started nothing, but this is certainly something else!

Additional: I would love to have a few pictures of the show, but the camera wasn’t working up to snuff from the vantage point i had.

Thanks to Jenn Barnett for taking some great pics of Adele at the Fitzgerald this week!

adele.tv | adele myspace | fitzgerald theater

In his signature fedora and shades, Van Morrison took to the stage and delivered a magical two-set performance. His first set was mostly tunes from 1979’s Into The Music, my favorite being “Angeliou.” He finished off the first set with back-to-back-to-back (!) chart-toppers; the always timeless “Moondance,” “Brown-Eyed Girl” and “Gloria.” It seemed like Van tossed those out as special treats for the audience, but the true gift awaited in the second set.

Hearing Astral Weeks performed live, in its entirety, is something I never thought that I would experience. Living in a time when music is purchased one song at a time, the concept and value of the “album” has gotten lost. So on this special night, not only do we get to appreciate the album itself, but we are also able to experience it live, the way that Van intended. The songs showcased Van’s classic blend of jazz, and soul with beautiful touches of Celtic rhythms. I’ve always loved Van’s distinct vocal styles. For someone who can sound so raw and gravelly, there is always something so pristine about it as well. And the same goes for his music. “Ballerina” was my favorite performance of the Astral Weeks set. Smooth and graceful with leaps and turns, solo string performances really shined here—

“Step right up — and step right up — and step right up– just like a ballerina– yeah, crowd will catch you”

This brought the crowd to their feet, and from there, Van finished his set with the gorgeous “Madame George” and “Listen to the Lion” as the encore. On another warm California autumn evening, what better way to close out the Hollywood Bowl season than with CLASSIC jams from Van the Man himself.

The final performance is tonight, don’t miss out.

Set 1

1. Inarticulate Speech of the Heat ->Wavelength - Wavelength

2. St. Dominic’s Preview - St Dominic’s Preview

3. And the Healing has Begun - Into The Music

4. It’s All In The Game/You Know What They’re Writing About - Into The Music

5. Troubadours – Into The Music

6. Angeliou - Into The Music

7. Moondance - Moondance

8. Brown Eyed Girl

9. Gloria/Who Do You Love/Gloria

Set 2

1. Astral Weeks

2. Beside You

3. Slim Slow Slider

4. Sweet Thing

5. The Way Young Lovers Do

6. Cyprus Avenue

7. Ballerina

8. Madame George

9. Listen To The Lion (Encore)

Thanks to Van Morrison News Blog help with the Setlist.

*Story and photos by Paola Viljanen

On Wednesday, November 5th, Rockworms had the distinct privilege of attending the concert of The Second Stage Turbine Blade show at the Avalon theater in Hollywood. Set to be a concept show, following walking on stage, the band immediately kicked things off with the song “Time Consumer” and then proceeded to play through the rest of the bands entire first album (the aforementioned Second Stage Turbine Blade), save for two brief interruptions by the band to welcome their fans and thank them for coming out.

For those that are unaware, the four currently released Coheed and Cambria albums together form one cohesive story arc referred to as “The Armory Wars.” The Second Stage Turbine Blade centers around the stories characters “Coheed and Cambria Kilgannon,” who have been tricked into murdering their children by the villains “Wilhelm Ryan and Mayo Deftinwolf.” One of the children thought to have been murdered, “Claudio Kilgannon,” survives the murder attempt and the remainder of the albums center around his story of saving “Heaven’s Fence,” the universe in which our story takes place. The Neverender concert series is a four-night event, with Coheed and Cambria playing one album in its entirety each night. The first Neverender concert was in New York, the second in Chicago, the third in Los Angeles, and the fourth and final will be played in London.

For such technical music, I was blown away with how well the band sounded live. From Chris’ drum fills to Claudio’s furious guitar fretwork and his perfectly high-pitched voice, the band was in top form and clearly enjoying themselves more than any band at their level of success should have. For most of the show, Claudio Sanchez was grinning from ear to ear watching the crowd go completely nuts listening to the band play. It seemed as if the entire audience knew every word to the entire album, with people literally hanging from the balcony shouting the lyrics along with the band. A small mosh pit formed in the rear, but for the most part people were too engrossed in the music to bother shoving each other around.

Besides lighting and fog, the only aesthetic effects on stage were three television displays showing both static and moving images, animated and live action, reflecting what was happening in the story at this point on the album. My only complaint as a reviewer is that they did not use more of the images from the (and produced) comics, as that artwork was much better than what was displayed for most of the show.

The songs “Time Consumer”, “Devil in Jersey City” and “Delirium Trigger” are my favorite tracks from the album, and they sounded incredible live. Overall, having listened to their other live albums, the band sounded much better in this show than in previous outings. The encore, introduced as a “preview of what is to come” began with “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3” followed by “Welcome Home” and ended with “No World for Tomorrow”. The encore was most certainly the highlight of the show, the crowd more energized during these three songs than the rest of the night.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the show was the crowd. After the show commenced, a many in attendance gathered outside on the sidewalk in front of the Avalon to trade Coheed and Cambria concert stories, talk about the their thoughts on the show, and made plans to meet up with each other over the next three nights. For such a hard-core group of followers that absolutely loves the band, this was a show designed for them.

All in all, I could not have asked for a better Coheed and Cambria concert experience, and I for one am stoked to be able to see the other three nights of the show when they are released next year on CD and DVD.

6:54 – I made it! Madison
Square Garden!
The world’s most famous arena! Yeeeaaaaah!

7:00 – I can’t find my seat. I’m going where they are
telling me to go, but my seat is not there.

7:06 – OK, I was about 4 levels too high. *Phew*, that’s a
relief at least. For the amount I spend on these tickets I was nervous they
were going to STILL suck.

7:10 – The National is starting inside. I’m still in the
wrong section. Should I just sit down and watch from here? Nope. Security ain’t
having that. Shouldn’t they have a policy in place that if your seat is FAR
superior to the one you are attempting to squat in, you may sit there? Sounds
reasonable.

7:13 – I am nervous to ask this person customer service
person where my seat is because I am pretty sure I asked her already and she
looked at me like I was amazingly stupid then!

7:15 – FOUND IT! OK, it’s not as close as I would have
hoped, but I think I might actually prefer this slightly elevated
approach. It lifts me OVER the
floor-people.

7:28 – The National are decent. Nothing too special, forgive
a few songs. They sound like they might play better recorded.

7:30 – Madison
Square Garden is only about 1/5 full. This show has been announced as “sold
out”. I am practicing sitting tightly in my little area, but also embracing the
extra leg room while I have it on either side of me.

7:32 – There are some lesbians sitting two seats away from
me. How do I know that they are lesbians? One of the easiest methods of
detection I have found is to study their pattern of making out.

7:40 – The lead singer of The National (let’s call him
“Bill”) just jumped off the stage and is now walking about in the crowd yelling
his lyrics in the face of unsuspecting concert-moms.

7:42 - *pheeew* “Bill” found his way back on stage. Now they
are playing a song that the audience seems to know, I’ll assume it is their
radio-friendly unit-shifter.

7:45 – The National is pretty good overall. They have heavy
Wilco and The Cure influences in their sound. Quite moody. An enjoyable sound.
Great stage presence by the group as a whole. A treat to watch despite my lack
of familiarity. Crowd was about 15% full when they started and about 50% when
they wrapped 40 minutes later.

7:50 – I think The National is a good band, but perhaps too
moody for this tour. R.E.M. fans at this stage in the game are waay more
positive then that of 20 years ago.

7:52 – Everyone heads up to the bathrooms before Modest
Mouse starts.

7:53 – There is a TON of gear on the stage. I forget that
all equipment gets placed out there prior to the show starting. Haven’t rodied
in 5 years now!

7:55 – watching people set up the stage is pretty boring.

7:56 – Modest Mouse is from the Seattle area. So is Eddie Vedder (who showed
up at last night’s Philly show). Is he in da hooouse?

8:00 – As lame as a thing that it is to say, I really hope
that Modest Mouse play “Float On”. It is really one of the only songs of theirs
that I know and otherwise, will be in the dark a lot.

8:05- Mmmm.
Madison Square Garden hot-dogs smell really good,
but they look just like any other normal over-priced boiled wiener.

8:08 – Modest Mouse is here, although we wouldn’t have
known, because they didn’t introduce themselves.

8:15 – Yeah, still no introduction on who these guys are.
And they are really sucking.

8:20 – The lead singer of Modest Mouse is doing his typical
shrieking-then-deep singing theatrics and it just looks embarrassing tonight.

8:25 – The crowd looks terribly bored/completely
disinterested in Modest Mouse right now.

8:35 – a half hour into the set and Modest Mouse has yet to
say a single thing to the crowd. Who are they? Thank us for coming? The name of
the next song? Who’s the bassist?

8:40 – Can seeing a band live actually make you LESS
interested in learning more about them? Modest Mouse is daring me to find out!

8:45 – I don’t know what’s wrong, but these guys are really
off. Like, painfully bad. But they have two drummers!

8:52 – OK, they’ve now played two enjoyable songs in a row.
It’s a record!

8:53 – I hate the singer.

8:54 – OHH! First cramp of the night! Right leg, behind the
knee! Luckily the guy to the left of me isn’t here yet. Strreeeeeettch!

8:58 – And like that, Modest Mouse is done. No communicating
at all with the crowd. Just going-through-the-motions monotony.

8:59 – I’ve see bands at forced 15 minute spots at radio
station summer festivals with more energy than Modest Mouse tonight. This was
just crap.

9:02 – Alright, got a few minutes to walk out the cramp.
Walked up and down the corridor that everyone has escaped to during the Modest
Mouse debacle.

9:07 – While I was out walking, I talked myself into buying
a $30 R.E.M. tour t-shirt. It’s just a black shirt!!! Well, I wanted it, so
what.

9:10 – Every skinny white bald sound technician who takes
the stage to position an amp gets mistaken for Stipe.

9:17 – We have a Mike Mills sighting!!

9:18 – No, we don’t.

9:24 – Holy crap, it’s getting close. Not for sure, because
no announcements have been made, but judging by the time, we are entering the
home stretch!

9:35 – THEY’RE HERE!!

9:36 – No intro, no talk, straight into the “Living Well is
the Best Revenge” off of Accelerate. Great
song. Crowd is going bonkers!

9:37 – Lot of energy from the band. The crowd has no filled
into near 100%. The seat directly to the right of me and in front of me are
suspiciously (and thankfully) open.

9:38 – A foursome of co-ed type girls blaze up some
marijuana. Rather obviously and openly. The perfume fills the air and all for
sections around intake.

9:39 – The first cut off of 1986’s Life’s Rich Pageant is our second song with the band choosing
“These Days”. Great song, great performance.

9:41 – As if they needed ANOTHER reason to get the crowd
freaking out, following the wrap of “These Days”, the band busts out “What’s
the Frequency, Kenneth?” off of Monster.

9:42 – A whole lot of “Frequency” fans in attendance
tonight. Band is bouncing all over the place. Well, really just Michael. Peter
doesn’t bounce much.

9:44 – After that third song, Michael takes a moment and
welcomes us to the Garden (THANK YOOOOU!) and tells us who they are.
Apparently, they are R.E.M. Good. That’s who I wanted to see tonight.

9:55 – Just busted through “Bad Day”, “Drive” and a very
well-performed “Hollow Man” with only few pauses for brief band-to-band
communication or crowd interaction.

9:56 – While this is my first live R.E.M. show, I had seen
them in countless live recordings and DVD’s through the years and I have to say
that I think they look great tonight.

10:00 – After a short intro, Michael throws us to one of my
FAVORITE songs, Automatic for the People’s
“Ignoreland”. Great song, great presentation of it.

10:04 – MAN-SIZED WREATH! Wow, they are really going to work
on Accelerate.

10:06 – Since we ARE in New York, Michael decided to dust off a song
they hadn’t performed, or according to him, practiced in over three years, Around the Sun’s “Leaving New York”.
It’s dece. Some hate that entire album and shun anything off of it, but I
really didn’t mind it and actually enjoyed a lot of it. Not my favorite track,
but fitting for the local.

10:14 – The band dusts off Document with “Disturbance at the Heron House”, which I hadn’t
heard in so long that it took me a few minutes to remember what it was! Great
song.

10:25 – Following brilliant performances of “Houston” and
one of my personal faves “Electrolite”, Stipe changes places with Mike Mills
and lets the long-time bassist fill-in on lead vocals for the old-time (Don’t
Go Back to) Rockville. Great to hear and great cowboy hat by Mills.

10:50 – The last 20 minutes have included “Driver 8”,
“Harborcoat”, “The One I Love” (to which Madison Square Garden FREAKED out and
finally the entire crowd gathered on it’s feet), ”Let Me In”, “Horse To Water”
and right now “Pretty Persuasion”. They are all over the catalog! I literally
have no idea which era the next song is going to come from! This is so much
fun!

10:51 – Oh snap.

10:52:25 – Oooooh man. Stipe found the mega-phone!

10:52:40 – ORANGE CRUSH!!! The building is rocking right now
to the Green single as Michael yells
into his mega-phone.

10:57 – They just wrapped the main set with the long-time
tour favorite and b-side which finally found proper placement on Accelerate “I’m Gunna DJ” and walked
off. But we know it’s not done. Uh uh. We got some time.

11:00 – I dunno how long they are planning to stay back
there, but I’m clapping the entire time! So far, three minutes in. The claps
will continue!

11:03 – YESS!!! We did it! They are back! And we didn’t even
have to chant! No “R.E.M.!” or “Encore!” or anything! Just love and a little
clapping. I love these southern boys!

11:04 – The first (and arguably hottest) single off of Accelerate “Supernatural Superserious”
leads us into the encore performance. Great song and it is fab live!

11:06 – Oh boy!!! Peter Buck just picked up the mandolin!!!!
Could it really mean…

11:07 – LOSING MY RELIGION!!! While it is up there with It’s
the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) as the best known R.E.M.
tune, it still should rank as one of the most fun, beautiful songs that they
recorded during their insanely popular era. Crowd at MSG is in love all over
again. This is so much fun!

11:11: The band shifts it up again and plays one of mine
(and as apparent, one of the crowds) favorite older tracks “Begin the Begin.”
Great gone, great orchestration by the band of the very old tune.

11:15: Michael introduces us to Johnny Marr (famously of The
Smiths, but now touring with the earlier crap-tastic Modest Mouse) to accompany
the band on the closing tunage.

11:16: a tear ALMOST came to my eye, when the band opened up
“Fall On Me”, one of me oldest, most favorite songs by the band. Such a great
track. It should be enjoyed by far more than just the I.R.S. era R.E.M.
fanbase.

11:20: To close us out, Michael, Mike and Pete went with a
song that not only holds a special place in my heart for being he first R.E.M.
song I ever knew, but also as the first song by ANYONE that I saw performed on
MTV, “Man On the Moon”. If I had the ability left to cry, I just might have.
This is magical.

11:24 – Following a perfectly-times and incredibly well-received
“Man on the Moon”, the boys take a moment on stage to soak in the adulation and
then make their way backstage for their final exit.

11:30 – This was a truly amazing show and well worth the
wait. For those of you who have known me through the years, I have longed and
strived to see R.E.M. many times, including past occasions where I have
purchased tickets but for the craziest of circumstances have had to give them
up at the last moment. Not this time. Nothing was going to keep me away and
this show was certainly worth it. Well worth the ticket cost and well worth the
previously dozens of times I missed them in both Seattle
and Los Angeles.
This felt like peace. I am happy. I am content now. I have been in the same
room (along with 20,000 other like-minded people) with my favorite musical group
ever. This just seems right.

11:31: I am happy.

All you Minnesotans come check out Kaddisfly tonight at Station 4!

National Recording Artists: KADDISFLY

W/ Special Guests: Carawae, Throw The Fight, Drift Effect and Between Two Skies

Station 4, 201 E 4th Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101

Come find me (craig–here’s a pic) and tell me how much you love rockworms.com, and I’ll give you a free copy of the new EP from Von Nelson.

See you there!

After writing up the report from day two of the ASCAP Music Lounge at the TriBeCa Film Festival, many friends and readers have stopped me dead-cold on the street to remark and then ask me "Dang son, you must’a been spent! There’s no way you had enough left in the tank to go back for more!"

In most situations, you would have been correct. After the wildness of Tuesday, I, like most viral young men in my mid-20’s, would have given up and called it a week. Heck, after that chaos, maybe even a MONTH! But I couldn’t this time. Not during TriBeCa. No, no, no. Not when long-time Rockworms-admired actor Bob DeNiro went through all of this trouble to entertain me. I couldn’t turn the guy down! I couldn’t do that do him. So I grabbed Rockworm Jr. Research Assistant and intern of Copy-Editing & Related Media Storyboarding, Tiffany B. and headed down into the gullys of New York’s China Town to cover DAY FOUR of the TriBeca Film Festival’s ASCAP Music Lounge.

Before you ask, yes, I did miss day 3. In the words of the aforementioned Bobby D, "don’ worry bout it."

The listed highlight of day four was supposed to be rising Southern California-based rock outlet Augustana. As we showed up to the venue they had already dug into their set and were delivering a quality, if tamed-by-comparison-to-their-recorded-works, performance. As Tiffany remarked, the band seems to have changed as much in their musical style as in their physical one. Many of the band members have cut their hair in the past year and seem to be embracing more the folky element that the festival had been putting forth. While many of the festivals acts benefited for the shortened set times (ave: 35 mins), or at least were better able to use the time well, Augustana did not seem able to bring their show together within the given parameters. Should they have had an opportunity to perform a standard length show, perhaps the outcome may have gone differently, but the lack of length on this set left many in attendance with a feeling of wasted opportunity on our breath. Augustana, while not "bad" proved to be our first disappointment of the festival.

Following Augustana was the youthful-appearing and highly spirited Australian singer Sia. I had been of the belief that I was previously unfamiliar with Sia’s catalog, but as her set progressed I began feeling very comfortable with her songs and felt a developing understanding of the girl singing them. She leaves herself transparent and vulnerable in her lyrics, which certainly endeared herself to all on-hand. Sia gained acclaim after having the single "Breathe Me" chosen to accompany the dramatic closing minutes of the series finale of HBO’s Six Feet Under, in addition to radio and chart success. Sia was able to demonstrate in a short amount of time why great words have begun to surround her with each step and undoubtedly left the Canal Room with many more fans than she came in with. A delight of a show and a definite highlight of the entire festival.

If you are like most of your Rockworms reading peers, you have been trying to put your finger on what it is that makes Rockworms superior to Perez Hilton, Defamer, Pitchfork, Craigs Anatomy or pretty much any other music blog that you might frequent. Well, you need wonder no more!

In addition to our cutting-edge scathing socio-politico commentary and decade-old album reviews, we can now brag that we were able to land highly-coveted press access to the 2008 ASCAP Music Lounge at the TriBeCa Film Festival in New York City. Oh, you think that you are cool for getting to go to SXSW Rolling Stone? I didn’t see YOU at the ASCAP lounge!  Suck on THAT VH1’s "Best Week Ever!! " We taking over this newfangled internet fad!

This last week, Rockworm writers have been able to watch some of the best in music, hob-nob with other previously-faceless writing peers and partake in an open bar courtesy of TriBeCa founder Robert DeNiro. Thanks Bob! 

I was busy/asleep for the first day of the festival, so I sadly missed out on that action, but I was able to shake myself out of bed and get down to Canal street for the 2nd Day of musical awesomeness! And boy did I see some stuff!

As I showed up, I was delighted to hear the sound of music already filling my ears. I was coming in during what I thought was going to be a set change, but Chris Thile of Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers fame was still balls-deep wrapping up his set. I hadn’t planned on hearing Chris, but I was delightfully surprised. As I walked in, he was vigorously picking away at his mandolin. Despite only getting to enjoy about two songs of his, I felt like I had heard enough to get an appreciation for his work. A very entertaining and talented musician he is. Must remember to look up more when I get out of my current Hall & Oates phase.

Up next was the reason I made the trip downtown today, the lovely and talented Regina Spektor.
Having her music fill my ears at Starbucks nationwide for the last
year, I had gotten what I believed was a fairly good understanding of
the ladies music style. As it turns out, Regina wears MANY musical hats
and was able to blow me away with her quick transition’s from the piano
to the guitar to the box-drum. In addition to her instrumental talents,
Ms. Spektor possesses one of the most refreshing and powerful voices in
modern music. Coming into her performance, I only was familiar with a
handful of her material but I feel I left with a better understanding
of why she has captured the hearts of so many college-age hippie women.
 

She began her set by hobbling out to the microphone and explaining to
the jam-packed hundred or so attendees that she wounded herself the
night before falling down the stairs at a film TriBeCa film premiere.
We all promised not to write about that as not to worry her mother. I
had my fingers crossed.

Regina delivered a delightfully entertaining set as she danced through
her a number of her better known records including the radio-friendly
hits "Fidelity", "Better" and "Samson"
. Despite her limited set time (the schedule permitted her 30 minutes,
but she was on-stage for at least 45) Regina took much time out for
small-talk with the audience and was able to show off her amazing
personality and real passion for her music. The "anti-folk superstar"
closed her set with the particularly beautiful "I Loved You First". Her
performance was able to bridge the gap between long-time fan and
first-time listener in a way that is usually more reserved for an
entertainer much longer in the tooth. Her ability is far beyond her
years.

The final act of the evening was by Ingrid Michaelson. I was
(embarrassingly) unfamiliar with Ms. Michaelson’s work prior to this
performance but the recommendation of colleagues in the crowd convinced
me to give her a listen. I am much obliged to them for that great
advice.

The tall, ophthalmologist-supporting songstress, perhaps best known for er work on the season finale of "Grey’s Anatomy"
came prepared to make new fans of those who undoubtedly had shown up
for her predecessor, Mr. Spektor, but who had yet sobered up enough for
the ride home. And if my opinion means anything, she succeeded.

Along with her snap-tastic "The Way I Am", Michaelson kept the toes a’tappin with "Keep Breathing"
and 4 other songs whose names I sadly did not intelligibly write down.
Damn you Jamison!
Michaelson has that undefinable quality in a singer/songwriter that
simply commands respect and attention. It isn’t something that can be
created through the corporations or extended publicity. It’s
just…there. She has it.

Coming soon, day four of the ASCAP lounge with reviews of Augustana and Sia!

This has to be one of the best performances of Rhapsody in Blue ever recorded!

Congrats to HH on the big Grammy last night. I don’t think any of us saw that coming!

When I think of two of the more contrasting styles in hip-hop, it isn’t much of a stretch to put The Ghostface Killah and Rakim at the poles. While both amazing emcees, Ghostface comes at you with a no-holds-barred, shooting-from-the-seat-of-his-pants style that makes you think that if he died today, there would be nothing that he held back. Everything that is on his mind, he spits. He raps like every track is his last song and every dope rhyme that is imagined comes out. He doesn’t save them up for the singles (of which he has an amazingly small amount of, despite his notoriety), but instead, he drops gems on what other emcees would merely consider “filler” tracks.

And then you’ve got Rakim, the god M.C. The Microphone fiend. The
one who’s got soul. A skilled lyricist who when listened to, makes you
engage in serious mind-debate on if he spent the last 5 years penning
the track. Every word carefully chosen, every rhyme lined up with a
preciseness unlike any other in the history of the game. While he can
no doubt rip it in a freestyle, it is not what you would expect or even
want from him. He’s the grandfather of rap for a reason. He embodies
the skill and patience that is so often missed with this generation.

So
you’ve got these two amazingly contrasted styles of rap and you want to
put them in the same place at the same time? Hell yeah you do!

Ghostface
and Rakim were the co-headliners of the first ever (and oh-so
creatively named) Hip-Hop Live! tour. Along with opener, but no slouch
in his own right Brother Ali and the ten-piece backing Rhythm Roots
Bands, The Hip-Hop Live! Tour brought funk and flava to Seattle ’s
Showbox on November 4th.

For starters, The Rhythm Roots band was
top-notch. I had never had the honor of seeing the group before, but
this ten-piece arrangement provided a more than adequate substitute for
the typically backing of a DJ. On some songs throughout the night, it
was uncanny how well the band matched the original composition. From
steel drums to flutes to electric guitars to trombones to one of the
sickest drummers that I have ever layed eyes on, the Rhythm Roots Band
was able to put together one hell of a backing band and the best I have
ever seen at a hip-hop show.

The first artist that the band backed was the wicked albino Muslim from Minneapolis , Brother Ali. I had been told by many, including Rockworms own Craigsanatomy, not to sleep on Brother Ali, but for whatever reason, I kept on ignoring. I even contemplated skipping his set and showing up just for the big two. Good thing my conscience got the better of me. Homie ripped it! Due to me being unfamiliar with his tracks, every rhyme he dropped was fresh to my ears and some kept reverberating in my head as the night ran on. Aside from his lyrics, Ali’s stage presence is second to none. There was hardly a beat skipped that he didn’t have some knowledge to share with the crowd. He would wrap up a song, get right into some real life stories, kick a lil’ freestyle and then right back into another jam. Ali kept the crowd moving the whole night and made a new fan in myself in the process. Plus, there is no feeling like being in the crowd of 1,200 heads chanting “ALI! ALI! ALI!” like the great one has returned.

Following the briefest of intermissions that I had ever been to at a show, one of the men I had dreamed of seeing for years, Tony Starks himself, the Ghostface Killa took the stage and emerged amidst the sea of W ’s being thrown up by the capacity crowd. Flanked by Trife da God, Sun God, Shawn Wigz and other Theodore Unit members, The GFK opened it up with some of his newer hotness in “The Champ” and “Metal Lungies” before breaking it down and spitting an accapella of his IRONMAN classic, “Wildflower”. Ghost kept rocking with “Greedy Bitches” (prefaced by the story that inspired the “damn, the ho’s ate the Oreo’s” chorus), “Ice Cream”, “Biscuits”, “Fish” and “Apollo Kids”, before allowing us all a minute to remember his boy the, Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Ghost then leapt feet first into a very admirable cover of “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” which almost felt like he was channeling the long-gone Big Baby Jesus with every bar. While on the memory tip, he and the crew had us throw the dubs up a few more times as he hit us with a couple of his Wu-Tang bangers in “Triumph” and “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin’ to F*ck Wit’”. Needless to say, when the Shoalin horns kicked it, the place went ape. He then wrapped invited a bunch of the Seattle ladies up on stage to groove with him to “Ghostface” and “Back Like That”. Ghost wrapped it all up with one of his all-time finest tracks, a sans-Jadakiss rendition of the street survival anthem “Run” and the PRETTY TONEY opener “Nutmeg”.

Ghostface was able to put together an amazing set filled with top-notch tracks from his entire career that were able to etch a permanent grin across my face. My only complaint was the presence of his crew, The Theodore Unit. I understand and appreciate the role of hype men, especially for an emcee who spits as visiously as the GKF, and in honesty, I dig Trife as a rapper, but y’know:  this was supposed to be a Ghostface show. I didn’t pay to see Ghost and the boys.  I wanted Ghost. The whole time the crew was spitting almost as much as Tony Starks!  It just didn’t seem right and it took a lot away from a very powerful set.

But then came the man. The one who paved the way for EVERY emcee in the game today. The one who is still being argued in this modern era as the greatest lyricist of all time.  He is the living phenom, Rakim. Despite having left Eric B back in the late 80’s, Rakim still holds the title as both the most feared and inspiring rapper around. After coming out in 1986, alongside legends as Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-ONE and Melly Mel, the R has stood the test of time and as recently as 2005 was honored by an upwards of 20 MTV hip-hop writers as penning the greatest rap album of all time, the 1986 classic, PAID IN FULL.

The 39-year old (who looks like he MAY have lived at least 36 of those a little bit on the hard side) wasted no time in giving the hip-hops heads of Seattle a treat as he unleashed hit and hit from his catalog of classic records and (thankfully) went light on his newer material. This is not to slam his new stuff, some of which is MAD ill, but when you go to see Rakim, you wanna hear that old school mess. I’m talking the Paid in Full, Don’t Sweat the Technique, Follow The Leader-era Rakim. And as mentioned, that is what we thankfully got.

Due to Rakim’s snare-heavy, funk-tastic beats supplied back in the day by Eric B, the Rythym Roots band provided a worthy compliment to Rakim’s “My Melody”, “Don’t Sweat The Technique”, “Paid In Full”, “Mahongony”, “Microphone Fiend”, I Ain’t No Joke” and the set-closing, crowd-rocking, movement-starting “Eric B For President”.

Simply and unabashedly put, Rakim was amazing. For being such a legend, he really has no need to tour (other than what I am sure would be considerable financial debts) and when he does, he really has the option to just phone it in.  But he didn’t. He brought it and showed almost extra love to the standing-room-only crowd who rode on every rhyme dropped from his grizzled lips.

Wrapping it up, The Hip-Hop Live! Tour lived up well beyond it’s expectations. The three performers all brought their A-Game to the table and the band smoked it the whole night. Speaking of smoking it, my buddy Jeff and I am pretty sure we caught a contact about half way through the night, but hey, that’s the digs.

If the tour is still coming your way, I can not speak highly enough about getting in that venue and seeing the show. It was one of the most amazing music experiences that I have been able to be a part of and I wish that everyone could get a chance to share in it.

On a side note, when I was leaving, I bumped into Brother Ali in the hallway. He was showing some fans love so I let him be, but I was able to give him a short pat on the back and when we made eye contact, I through out “Coon Rapids, right here”, to which he gave mad respect. That’s for you C!