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Archive for the ‘New York City’ Category

Aurora (Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, May 30, 2018)

Posted in Aurora, Bowery Ballroom, New York City on May 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 30, 2018] Aurora

I first saw Aurora on a Tiny Desk Concert and I was mesmerized by the then 19-year-old.  There is somethings so innocent and sincere about her–so open, that it almost feels like you’re seeing something you shouldn’t.

I knew then (October 2016 when I watched it) that I wanted to see her live.  Turns out she was playing in Philly a few days after that but I missed the show, so I just had to wait until she came back.

Which was a year and a half later.  Turns out the Norwegian singer has written a lot of songs but doesn’t seem to record them very much.  And she didn’t come back to Philly. She was in New York for the Governor’s Ball and did an after dark show at the Bowery Ballroom.  Since I was not going to go to the Governor’s Ball, Bowery would have to do.

I try not to go to shows in NYC much anymore because the hassle is so great, but this one was worth it. (more…)

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Flora Cash (Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, May 30, 2018) [AURORA]

Posted in Aurora, Bowery Ballroom, Flora Cash, New York City, WRFF 104.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on May 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 30, 2018] Flora Cash

Flora Cash had a pretty thankless task when they came out at the Bowery Ballroom.

Aurora was performing her only area appearance (aside from a show at Governor’s Ball that I knew I wasn’t going to).  And there was no word of an opening band.  It seemed unlikely that she wouldn’t have one, but as late as that evening, there was no word about one.

So when Flora Cash guitarist Cole Randall came out with his hair bleached the color of Aurora’s for a split second many of us thought it was her–until we saw his black beard.

Randall played an acoustic guitar and sang while his partner Shpresa Lleshaj played the laptop–playing beats and backing tracks while she sang lead and backing vocals.

Flora Cash’s backstory was more exciting than their music, I will admit.  They told us about how they met between songs, but here’s the condensed version from their website: (more…)

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Phish (Baker’s Dozen Night #13: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, August 6, 2017)

Posted in David Bowie, Donuts, Jimi Hendrix, Jon Fishman, Madison Square Garden, Mike Gordon, New York City, Page McConnell, Phish, Trey Anastasio, Vida Blue, Willie Nelson on August 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2017] Phish [I’ll be attaching some video clips later]

I had imagined going to all 13 shows at MSG.  I knew it would never happen (maybe if I was single and lived closer to NYC).  I saw a number of people who did go to all 13 shows.  Some looked pretty good.  Others looked pretty beat.   Last night I sat next to a guy who went to 10 and a woman who went to 8–she looked much better than he did.

Each night on this run has been pretty spectacular.  The sets have been great, the band has sounded fantastic and their energy never flagged.  There were several shows in the run that in retrospect I would have loved to have been at.  But I assumed first and last night would be a fun way to go.

As soon as I saw that they weren’t repeating any songs, I decided to keep track of what had been played to see what was left.  I don’t normally like to “know” what a band is going to play so I wasn’t trying to guess the setlist, but I wanted to make sure that I was going to get some songs that I wanted to hear.  I joked that if they kept playing my “top rated” songs, the show would be a 45 minute “Minkin” with dips into “No2” and “Riker’s Mailbox” [Phish jokes… nevermind]. (more…)

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Phish (Baker’s Dozen Night #1 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, July 21, 2017)

Posted in David Bowie, Donuts, Harry Nilsson, Jon Fishman, Josh White, Junior Senior, Led Zeppelin, Madison Square Garden, Mike Gordon, New York City, Page McConnell, Phish, Trey Anastasio on July 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2017] Phish

I really enjoyed the Phish concert I saw last summer.  I knew I wanted to see the guys again, and I was really surprised to hear that they were doing a 13 night residency at Madison Square Garden.  I briefly thought…could I do all 13?…and then reality came crashing down on me.  I took a chance on 4 shows in the Phish lottery and amazingly I got all 4.  But I decided to sell 2 and just go to the first and last nights (making that two shows three weeks apart).

One of my tickets was being delivered to a buyer before the show and I was running late, so I had to hasten to MSG and managed to get to my seat by 7:25 for the promised 7:30 start.  Well, I was kind of annoyed that they didn’t start until 8.  I mean, start at 8, that’s fine, but don’t say you’ll start at 7:30, especially given how stressed you made me.

At any rate, I knew the theme of the show was coconuts, but since it was the first night, I didn’t really know what that meant.  It turned out that they were going to play a few songs that had a coconut theme (and have continued that for each night so far). (more…)

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Sigur Rós (Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, October 5, 2016)

Posted in New York City, Radio City Music Hall, Sigur Rós on October 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 5, 2016] Sigur Rós

2016-10-05-20-25-57I saw Sigur Rós play live fifteen years ago.  It was their first world tour and one of their first shows in the U.S.  And it was magical.  It is one of the most memorable shows I’ve ever seen.  For some reason I’ve never looked into seeing them again.  Until this time.  Some six tours later, Sigur Rós decided to strip down from a multi-piece band with orchestra (when I saw them they had some extra players but not a full orchestra) to just a trio: jón þór birgisson (jonsi), georg holm, and orri páll dýrason.

I never feared that the three of them wouldn’t be able to recreate the beautiful sounds, but it wasn’t until they were playing that I realized that all of that music–that expansive, enveloping sound, was coming from just those three guys–and I have no idea how they did it.

For the most part, Jonsi was on vocals and (violin bowed) guitar, Georg was on bass (and more) and Orri was on drums and keyboards.  But they shifted around, with each of them playing other things during the show.

The show was perfectly orchestrated with a spectacular light show.  It was arranged into two acts with a 15 minute intermission.  I have often complained about bands who don’t change their set list from night to night but there is no way they could change this–the precision of everything, the complexity of the lights and music–this was more of a stage show than a concert.  (more…)

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Belle and Sebastian (Radio City Music Hall, New York, June 10, 2015)

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Dum Dum Girls, Grateful Dead, Guys and Dolls, New York City, Paul Simon, Radio City Music Hall, Simon and Garfunkel on June 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2015] Belle and Sebastian

2015-06-10 23.11.13After the major hassle of getting into the city we at least had plenty of time for Belle and Sebastian (which meant plenty of time to take pictures of the awesome art deco structures and sculptures and paintings in Radio City Music Hall).  It’s an amazing theater.

We bought the tickets in April.  Then about two weeks ago we weren’t sure if we could go.  Then we realized we could.  And then three days ago, we had a miscommunication with our babysitter and thought we again couldn’t go.  So we tried to sell them to friends.  But thankfully no one took us up on it because our plans went as planned and we made it.

I had seen Belle and Sebastian back in 2002 with my friend Ailish.  Although my memories of the show aren’t the greatest because the crowd was so overwhelming (B&S were an “it band” at the time).  This was much more civilized.  And high tech!

Back in 2002, B&S were kind of mellow folksingers.  Some of their breakthrough If You’re Feeling Sisnister was bouncy and jaunty (and some was actually quite rocking), but the vibe was shushed and personal.  Well, thirteen years later, they are a huge band with horns and strings and dancers and a cool video screen and a ton of charm.  Just the fact that lead singer Stuart Murdoch ran around high-fiving everyone in the front row, and then later ran through the aisles singing is testament to how much more extroverted the band has become.

And Stuart and lead guitarist Stevie Jackson had a lot of amusing banter going on up there.  There was a lengthy one about walking around Broadway

Stevie: “I was walking down Broadway earlier today, singing to myself…”
Stuart: “Oh, and what were you singing Stevie?”
Stevie: “It was Guys and Dolls.”
Stuart: “Oh, which part?”
Stevie belted out (very nicely) a line from the musical Stevie said he was a rocker who liked musicals.  and then Stuart said he was singing “Feelin’ Groovy.”  That’s when we learned that the trumpeter has played with Paul. (more…)

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Real Estate (Radio City Music Hall, New York, June 10, 2015) [BELLE AND SEBASTIAN]

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Death Cab For Cutie, New York City, Radio City Music Hall, Real Estate, Sloan, Stefan Knapp on June 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2015] Real Estate

relestateWe ordered tickets for Belle and Sebastian months and months ago (probably back in April before Sarah’s birthday).  We had no idea a) they would be playing in Philly as well and b) who the opening act would be.

In Philly the opener was Lucius, a band I like a bit, and who are quite dancey.  But at Radio City, the opener was Real Estate, a jangly pop band who I like better.

Real Estate’s previous album was selected on many 2011 best of lists.  Their new album I think may not be quite as catchy, but it has the same summery vibe.  (And the cover of the new album, Atlas, features Stefan Knapp’s mural that was on Alexander’s department store in Paramus–Real Estate are from Ridgewood, New Jersey, you see). (more…)

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