Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Cities’ Category

Avi Avital (Berlind Theatre, Princeton, NJ, March 13, 2016)

Posted in Avi Avital, Béla Bartók, Berlind Theatre, Ernest Bloch, Fritz Kresiler, Funny (ha ha), Heitor Villa-Lobos, Itamar Doari, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ksenija Sidorova, Manuel de Falla, Nikolai Budaskhin, Princeton, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Sulkhan Tsintsade on March 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 13, 2016] Avi Avital

aviA few months ago I wrote about Avi Avtal’s Tiny Desk concert.  I had never heard of him, but his mandolin playing was amazing.  And then about three days later I saw that he was going to be playing in Princeton.  Well, I immediately got tickets.

And today we saw him and he was even more amazing in person.

In the Tiny Desk show, he played solo.  But in this show (and tour) he played with two people accompanying him: Ksenija Sidorova on accordion and Itamar Doari on percussion.

The only complaint I had about the show was that there was no progamme, so I had to look up everything online to know what we had just seen.  Fortunately I was able to find a setlist, because I never would have remembered what he told us.

Anyhow, in this show, titled Between Worlds Avital and company explore the borders between folk and classical music.  What that means is that they play music from classical composers, but also some very traditional folks songs from around the world.

Mandolin doesn’t seem like the instrument of choice for classical music, but Avital, who has been playing since he was little is amazing at the instrument–playing incredibly fast and clear and managing all of those Bach notes like nobody’s business. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Doktor Kaboom! LIVE WIRE: The Electricity Tour [RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, March 11, 2016]

Posted in Branchburg, NJ, C., Doktor Kaboom, Electricity, Funny (ha ha), Nikolai Tesla, RVCC Arts, Science, T. on March 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 11, 2016] Doktor Kaboom!

drkAnyone named Doktor Kaboom sounds like a performer I want to see. Especially if his thing is that he mixes science and comedy.

I knew nothing about the man when we bought tickets at RVCC Friday night, but boy was I excited.  And so were the kids, who both love science and things that go Kaboom!

So Doktor Kaboom came out on stage and…lo and behold…the K in Doktor wasn’t a zany spelling (thank goodness), it is because the good Doktor is German!  And when he asks you if you understand, you must shout Ja!, not yeah or yuh or okay, JA!

And he likes things to go Kaboom!  Ja?  JA! (more…)

Read Full Post »

Crash Test Dummies (Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, March 9, 2016)

Posted in Brad Roberts, Crash Test Dummies, Funny (ha ha), Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, Stewart Cameron, The Replacements on March 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 9, 2016] Crash Test Dummies

I thought and still think that God Shuffled His Feet is a great album.  The lyrics to that disc are just fantastic.  And while Brad Roberts’ voice might take some getting used to, it’s really an amazing instrument.

The one thing that has always bugged me though is that Roberts is treated as something of a novelty because of his voice.  When someone like Johnny Cash has a very similar style of singing, yet he has never been thought of as a joke.  Perhaps that’s because Roberts has a sense of humor.

I was pretty excited to see this show, having never seen him/them before.  I wasn’t sure if it was a full band or just him.  It turned out to be Roberts and guitarist Stewart Cameron.  In preparation for this show I listened to his previous live album Crash Test Dude.  On that one he played a bunch of covers and sang a few old songs.

I was really hoping to hear my favorite CTD songs, and would have liked a cover or two.  So I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

Well, Roberts came out and the Stewart sat next to him.  And they launched right into “God Shuffled His Feet,” and I was ecstatic.

And it turned out that the set was almost entirely taken from the Shuffled album.  He played four songs from their last album Ooh La La, and one or two other songs.  And it was an amazing evening.

Roberts’ voice sounds amazing.  And especially so in the great acoustics of Sellersville Theater.  His deep bass is just as powerful as ever (does a bass singer lose the ability to hit low notes as a tenor loses the ability to hit high notes?).  He was resonate and really sounded perfect.

The only cover song they played was the Replacements’ “Androgynous” which doesn’t really count as CTD recorded it on their debut album.

All told, he played nine songs from Shuffled.  Now, the orchestration of the album is amazing, so how did it work with one guitarist?  Well, it turns out that Stewart Cameron is an amazing guitarist.  He plays jazzy licks, beautiful solos and complex structures.  While it wasn’t the same as the album, it worked really well to convey the fairly complex songs.

The only thing I missed the whole night was Ellen Reid’s harmonies.  Cameron did sing a little, but he never tried to do her harmonies, which really do make the songs sound a wee bit better.  But no matter, he sounded amazing enough by himself.

The newer songs are much more simple, and they allowed Cameron to open up a bit and play some fun licks.  The last album, Ooh La la, which he autographed for me after the show is sadly overlooked.  It’s a very simple album but with some of Roberts’ loveliest songs.  Gone are the days of his baroque lyrics, but his gift for melody has returned.

He also played a couple of his darker, funny songs, like “Just Shoot Me, Baby” and “I Don’t Care If You Don’t Mind.”  Which are “mature.”  As is his banter.  He told a bunch of stories (none as vulgar as the stories on his live CD), but they included tales of his botched vasectomy, and about vaporizing.

All in all it was a great night in a great venue with a great voice.  And as I said, he signed things for us afterward and was very nice.

 

  • God Shuffled His Feet
  • Androgynous
  • Not Today Baby
  • Here I Stand Before Me
  • Just Shoot Me, Baby
  • Swimming in Your Ocean
  • You Said You’d Meet Me (In California)
  • How Does a Duck Know?
  • Afternoons & Coffeespoons
  • In the Days of the Caveman
  • Song Bird
  • When I Go Out With Artists
  • Heart of Stone
  • Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
  • I Don’t Care That You Don’t Mind
  • Two Knights and Maidens
  • Superman’s Song

 

Read Full Post »

Alyssa Garcia (Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, March 9, 2016) [CRASH TEST DUMMIES]

Posted in Alyssa Garcia, Regina Spektor, Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA on March 9, 2016| 10 Comments »

[ATTENDED: March 9, 2016] Alyssa Garcia

alyssaWhen I heard that the Crash Test Dummies were playing at Sellersville Theater, I was pretty excited to go.  I’d really liked them years ago (God Shuffled His Feet is an amazing album still).  But I also knew that Brad Roberts was a kind of vulgarian.  So I was really surprised to see a family with two small kids sitting in the row in front of ours.

I didn’t know the opening act (her name was actually misspelled on the bill, sadly).

Well, it turns out there was good reasons I didn’t know her.  She is 16 and recently won the 2015 Philadelphia Songwriters Project Final Showcase.  Turns out the young kids in front of us were her family.

Alyssa had amazing stage presence (I want to say “for someone so young” after just about every sentence, but I’ll refrain, because she was simply good regardless of her age).  She chatted with the audience, told us about her life, sold merch at the back table and, most importantly, she played five or six beautiful songs.

The melodies were fairly simple–I actually expected a little more showoffy flair for a person who has been playing piano since she was 5, but that clearly wasn’t her goal.  She was writing pretty songs to get her words across.  And it was her voice that was so captivating. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Montgomery High School, February 27, 2016)

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Montgomery High School Theatre, Montgomery, NJ, Non-Dicktion, Ocean, Sesame Street, Set at School, Set in New Jersey!, T., The Little Mermaid on March 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

mermaid[ATTENDED: February 27, 2016] The Little Mermaid

I pass by the Montgomery High School every day on my way to work.  And for years I have seen them put signs out about upcoming plays.  I’ve always been impressed by their selection of works, but I’ve never considered stopping in to see one.  I guess it seemed weird to go to a high school performance at a school where my kids don’t go (and won’t go).

And yet, why should that be?  It’s a fun way to spend some time watching talented actors doing a good show, right?  With Clark doing stage crew for his upcoming fifth grade play and Tabby really enjoying performing in the house, I thought that perhaps it would be fun for everyone.

Well, it turned out that neither Clark nor Sarah could go, so I took Tabby.  And we had a wonderful time!

Tabby was thrilled by the show and I enjoyed it very much (and was shocked to realize how much I did not know the music for this story–I guess we’ve watched other Disney movies a lot more than this one). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Richard Thompson (McCarter Theatre, February 9, 2016)

Posted in Concert, Fairport Convention, George Bernard Shaw, Linda Thompson, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, Richard Thompson, Set in New Jersey! on February 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 9, 2016] Richard Thompson at the McCarter Theatre

2016-02-09 19.19.51This was my fourth time seeing Richard Thompson at McCarter Theatre (he says it was his 492nd time playing there).  And this time, I got my tickets early and scored ROW G!  Right in the center!

2016-02-09 19.24.13So there was the man just six rows away.  And I got to watch every amazing solos and chord changes and capo placements and tuning (that’s why I can’t play his songs) and everything else he could do with that one guitar.

For indeed, that’s what it was, just him and his acoustic guitar.  Standing in front of us for 2 hours and blowing us away.  When I bought the tickets, he was touring with a trio (last summer), so I assumed that this show would be the trio show.  But nope, it was just him.

And, more amazingly, he played with no opening act!  The night before he was at the Sellersville Theater (which sold out before I found out and although they called me about the waiting list, it was about 2 hours before show time, so there’s no way I could have gone) and had an opening act.  And the next show after this one he had a different opening act.  But we got just Richard (and we were home by 10, which is pretty awesome for us old people). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Cashore Marionettes: Life in Motion (RVCC Arts, Branchburg NJ, February 6, 2016)

Posted in Branchburg, NJ, Cashore Marionettes, RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey!, T. on February 8, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 6, 2016] Cashore Marionettes

cashoreSarah and Clark were both out on Saturday night, so I thought it might be fun to take Tabitha out to a marionette show at RVCC.

We had gotten the promotional material for it (there’s lots of puppets this season) and it seemed like a fun thing to do.

We got there early (it was general admission seating, and got in the second row).  And it was wonderful.  I was only sad for the puppeteer that it wasn’t more crowded (my constant complaint about RVCC shows–why aren’t more people going to them???).

2016-02-06 19.43.10Joseph Cashore is the creator and operator of all of the marionettes.  And while most of us think of marionettes as the puppet on the string and that giant T crossbar, Cashore has taken this art to levels that far exceed anything you can imagine.  I mean, check out thephoto on the left from the show we saw.  Look at that contraption!

cash3The puppets are puppet-sized and Cashore stands behind them–he doesn’t try to hide himself.  And he doesn’t need to. The puppets are so life-like (jointed in countless places) that you are totally sucked into their story.  Except for the few times when you have to watch his hands and wonder how that all works.  What kinds of things is he doing with those handmade (and decidedly NOT T-shaped crossbar) handles–some of which (like the elephant) have 42 strings on them! (more…)

Read Full Post »

Muse (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, January 31, 2016)

Posted in AC/DC, Ennio Morricone, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center on February 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 31, 2016] Muse

2016-01-31 19.03.02I have liked Muse since their debut album, although I really got into them with Origin of Symmetry.  Given their over the top sound and Radiohead meets Queen meets really heavy metal I am astonished that they are as popular as they are.

I wished that I had seen their previous tour because I really liked their last album, and while I enjoyed Drones, it was a bit more basic than the over the top sound of The 2nd Law.  Nevertheless, I was pretty excited to see them live, especially when my friend Joe said they were the best show he has ever seen.

And I have to concur with him.  This show was outstanding.  There was nothing disappointing about this show at all.  Even before the show started, they had a Drone Processing Entrance for anyone with general admission seats (I didn’t know there was such a thing, but they all got to stand on the floor inches from the band, which is pretty cool).  2016-01-31 19.23.49The stage setup itself was spectacular–a circular stage with two catwalks extending out to either side–like a bow tie–which guitarist/singer/superathlete Matthew Bellamy and bassist (and growler) Chris Wolstenholme ran to throughout the show.

2016-01-31 20.15.57Just before the band came out, a dozen stormtrooper-looking guys with batons and blue glowing lights came out to “patrol” the perimeter while they played “Straight Outta Compton.”  And then the lights went out.

The giant orbs lit and up descended from the rafters while the prerecorded “Drones” played.  These drone balloons had lights on the bottom which scoped out the audience.

And then the band came out and launched into “Dead Inside” while the drones floated around above them.  It was cool to see Wolstenholme’s bass with the led lights on the fretboard.  And before I forget, drummer Dominic Howard is a monster.  His set was right in the center of the stage anchoring the whole business. And his drums were loud and impressive and super fast when needed.  I also liked that at the end of the show, he ran to both sides of the bow tie stage to wave to fans. (more…)

Read Full Post »

X Ambassadors (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, January 31, 2016) [MUSE]

Posted in Muse, Phantogram, Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center, X Ambassadors on February 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 31, 2016] X Ambassadors

2016-01-31 19.33.02I have had a great string of luck with opening acts in the last year.  But that more or less came to an end with X Ambassadors (the first half of the tour had Phantogram as the opening act, whom I would have been pretty psyched to see).  I didn’t know X Ambassadors at all before seeing this show (although I understand that they have a number of singles out).

It’s not that X Ambassadors were bad, because they weren’t.  It’s not even that they didn’t fit with Muse, although really they don’t.  There was just something flat about them.  And that is really surprising because they sure looked and acted like they were ready to be huge.

They played the center circular stage.  Noah Feldshuh on guitar was at 9:00 as I looked at the stage.  Keyboardist Casey Harris was at 6:00 and drummer Adam Levin was at 3:00.  Lead singer Sam Harris was all over the place.  He ran around, jumped and bounced and really got the crowd into it.  I assume they were into it.

Sam Harris has a great voice–he can wail, he can hit high notes, he can croon, he can do it all.  He might as well be a star on a TV music show.  And I think that’s where the problem with the band is for me. They are playing a show with Muse and they have a sound that is kind of heavy.  But I think they’d be better suited with a less “alternative” rock sound.  I think an RnB vibe would suit his voice better. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Indigo Girls (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, January 30, 2016 )

Posted in Blue Öyster Cult, Indigo Girls, Jill Hennessy, Library Related, Lyris Hung, Michael Stipe, Montclair, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Wellmont Theater on January 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 30, 2016] Indigo Girls

2016-01-30 22.57.42When I was a radio DJ in college, I received a promo disc by a band called the Indigo Girls, which I listened to because Michael Stipe sang on one of the songs.  I really enjoyed the sampler.  The Girls’ harmonies were outstanding and the lyrics were clever and funny and very very smart.

And I’ve enjoyed them intermittently for twenty some years.  I even saw them at Newport Folk Festival back in 1998 when they put on a fantastic show.

Sarah has been a fan of the band for a long time as well.  She saw them at an even more unusual venue–at the American Library Association Convention in 2002.

Neither one of us had seen them in a “proper” venue and thought it would be cool to see them in this small theater in Montclair.

And man, did they sound fantastic.  Their first album came on in 1989 and their voices sound exactly the same.  Emily can hit the high notes and Amy still has that great gravelly sound (despite claiming to be ill and on steroids to get her voice to actually work–I never would have guessed).  And their harmonies are still perfect together. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »