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Kishi Bashi (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, July 30, 2014) [RODRIGO Y GABRIELA]

Posted in Jupiter One, Kishi Bashi, New Brunswick, NJ, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre on July 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

kishi[ATTENDED: July 30, 2014] Kishi Bashi

A few months ago I bought tickets for Rodrigo y Gabriella at the State Theatre.  I was very psyched to see them because I’d seen some videos online and was super psyched to see their show live.  I don’t know when they decided to add an opening act, but about three days ago it was announced that the opener would be Kishi Bashi (this show isn’t even mentioned on his websites tour dates, so it must have been very last minute). But whatever the reason, I nearly whooped ion my seat at work when I saw that he would be the opening act.  And I told our friends Liz and Eleanor how excited I was because they were coming to see Rod y Gab with us as well

I’ve been a huge fan of Kishi Bashi’s since I first heard and then saw him on NPR.  I was mesmerized by the way he looped his violin and did some beatboxing for drums and basically made a whole band all by himself on stage.  I knew that he had been touring with a band this time around, but I was secretly hoping he do at least a few songs by himself.

And man alive was I not disappointed.  At the strike of 8, Kishi came out on stage in a pink tuxedo jacket and bowtie.  (I have no pictures from the show because I was observing the State Theatre’s no pictures policy, even though I appeared to be the only one observing it).  He played some violin improv stuff and then launched into “It All Began with a Burst” a great opening track that allowed him to show off his looping, his voices, his beatboxing and his amazing singing voice.  I was rapt from the get go.

He then played “Bittersweet Genesis for Him and Her” from his new album Lighght (named after the Adam Saroyan poem of the same name).  This isn’t my favorite song from the new album (probably because it is much less soaring than his others), but I enjoyed the live version quite a lot.  Then he went back to his older songs, playing “Atticus, in the Desert” (in New Jersey), which is one of my favorites off his debut.  (more…)

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Gogol Bordello (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 21, 2014)

Posted in Gogol Bordello, Man Man, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on July 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2014] Gogol Bordello

I first heard Gogol Bordello on a PBS music show (I assume it was Austin City Limits, but I can’t find any record of them being on the show).  I didn’t know anything about them, but I was really impressed by what I saw.  Since then I’ve bought a few records, and have enjoyed all of their appearances on NPR shows, but it was after watching the DVD that came with Live from Axis Mundi that I knew this was a band I wanted to see live.  So I was totally psyched that they were coming to the tiny Starland Ballroom.

Now I will say that they were not as exciting here as in the video.  That is due to a couple of things.  The first is that the club in the video was much bigger, allowing them to do a lot more.  The second is that in the video they had direct access to the audience, unlike at Starland so lead singer Eugene Hutz was able to go into the crowd in the video, as were the two dancers (suspended aloft on giant bass drums).  In Starland, they all stayed on the stage (although they did move all over it) and the two dancers have been replaced by one who was excellent but did not climb onto a drum at all).

Comparisons aside, Gogol Bordello put on a pretty amazing show. (more…)

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Man Man (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 21, 2014) [GOGOL BORDELLO]

Posted in Dave Grohl, Gogol Bordello, Man Man, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on July 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2014] Man Man

I went to the Starland Ballroom to see Gogol Bordello, but I was pretty excited that Man Man was opening.  I really only knew them from three things.  Their fairly popular (at least on WXPN) song “Head On [Hold On To Your Heart]” a synthy treacly delight (that really belies the bands manic energy) and “Paul’s Grotesque” a newer song (for XPN) that I didn’t actually realize was Man Man.  And, third, and most compelling, was their video for “Black Mission Goggle” live at Amoeba Records (which you can see at the bottom of the post).  In it they proved to be immensely silly and yet still quite talented.  And I love a band who can put on a show (which is why I wanted to see Gogol Bordello in the first place).

And Man Man did not disappoint.  The four piece came out on stage, with Brown Sugar, the bassist/Schatzaphone/percussionist/malletKAT player on the right side, Pow Pow, the drummer (whose kit was sideways), right in the middle and Shono Murphy the guitarist/trumpeter/percussionist on the left.  After playing an instrumental opening, Honus Honus, singer, keyboards and all around head honcho came out in a glorious cape, looking like Dave Grohl when he’s most possessed. (more…)

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An Evening with Natalie Merchant (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, July 8, 2014)

Posted in 10000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant, New Brunswick, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre on July 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

nat[ATTENDED, July 8, 2014] An Evening with Natalie Merchant

Most of the shows that Sarah and I go to are for bands that I, or more often we, like.  We have very similar tastes in music, although I veer off in one way (extreme noise and metal) and she veers off in other ways (country).  So although I am usually on the look out for bands that I want to see, I know that there are artists that she would love to see as well.  And that’s where Natalie Merchant comes in.

I really liked 10,000 Maniacs, although by the end of their time, I felt like they were perhaps a bit too preachy.  When Merchant’s Tigerlily came out I mis-heard “Carnival” as “Carnivore” I thought it was a pointedly vegetarian song (and nobody needs that, frankly).  So although I liked some of the songs on the album, I didn’t really seek it out.

But Sarah loved Tigerlily and Ophelia, and I grew to enjoy them over the years as well.  Although neither one of us listened much to her output since then (which is actually four albums, including a new one which was released in May).  Suffice it to say that I knew fewer songs at this show than at any concert I’ve been to in a long time.

Having said all that, Merchant puts on a good show.  First off, her voice sounds amazing.  It’s instantly recognizable as hers and she can still hit all of the notes (not that she does many high notes) with the richness and fullness that I know of her.  I was immediately impressed with how great she sounded.  Also, the band sounded great too.  She had a small string section (two violin, a viola and an upright bass), a drummer, a keyboardist and a guitarist.  While some credit goes to the State Theatre’s acoustics (we were in the very top section of cheap seats), the strings sounded wonderfully lush and the drums in particular sounded great.  The one drawback is that we could barely see her–I couldn’t see he face at all really, although I did enjoy seeing her long gray hair spinning around her head. (more…)

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Roddy Doyle–“Box Sets” (New Yorker, April 14, 2014)

Posted in Drinking, Dublin, Ireland, Irish Writer, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Roddy Doyle, Simone Dinnerstein, Tiny Desk Concert on June 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_04_14_14Blitt.inddSOUNDTRACK: SIMONE DINNERSTEIN-Tiny Desk Concert #362 (June 2, 2014).

simoneSimone Dinnerstein plays several of Bach’s two-part inventions.  And my jaw hits the floor.

I like Bach–I like his elaborate arrangements and the way he makes the piano (or harpsichord) sing.  But I never really thought about how hard these pieces are.  Watching Dinnerstein play these–simply watching the amazingness of her fingers–has blown me way.  And if I may say, her fingers aren’t long slender graceful things, they look a lot like mine.  So she doesn’t seem to have that advantage of an octave and a half reach or anything.  I am amazed that her two hands can work so independently.  And it sounds beautiful.

She groups them together into three segments and between each segment she talks a little about Bach and about playing these difficult pieces.  Her story about learning these as a child and then teaching them to children is really fascinating (and funny).

I have no idea how many Inventions Back wrote, but this set list is: Inventions Nos. 1, 6, 8, then Inventions Nos. 9, 10, and finally Inventions Nos. 12, 13, 14.

Check this out.

[READ: June 3, 2104] “Box Sets”

How can Roddy Doyle, who does funny so well, also do domestic unhappiness with such verisimilitude?

In this brief story, just as Ireland is getting through the worst of the economic depression and Sam and his wife Emer are feeling like they can exhale, Sam is let go from his job.  Now he’s been on the dole for three months.  And he is miserable.  The only good thing is that he has been watching box set seasons of all of the really good TV that everyone’s been talking about.  He feels foolish watching it all after the fuss about them has ended, but he’s still glad to watch it.  And Emer is great through the whole thing, always cheerful, always trying to make him feel better.  Always with a smile.  But Sam is getting darker and darker.

Then one night when Emer says they’re going to a friend’s house on Friday, Sam says he’d rather not.  He reminds her that at their last get together he was stumped when someone asked him what he did.  He just doesn’t want to go out anymore.  Emer tries to comfort him but fails.  He just gets madder until he throws a coffee mug and it shatters.  He takes the dog for a walk down to the seaside to cool off. (more…)

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King’s X (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, May 3, 2014)

Posted in King's X, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom, TT Quick on May 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 3, 2014] King’s X

I first saw King’s X with my friend Al back in 1992 or so.  I don’t recall much about the concert.  But I knew that they were awesome live, even still, some twenty years later.

I’ve enjoyed nearly everything they’ve released (their last album was in 2008), and when I heard that they were playing three concerts in the area, I decided it was time to see them again.  I almost went to the show in Newtown, NJ on May 2, but we went to a Figaro play instead.  So, I was psyched that they were playing reasonably close by in Sayreville, too.

The Newtown show was a seated event.  The Starland Ballroom is not.  It is a small venue with large “wings” where you can see the band from all kinds of angles (including the side of the stage).  I got there a little later than I intended.  The co-headliners were TT Quick, a band I knew in high school (who are also from NJ), but who I’d forgotten about.  When I saw they reunited for this show,  listened to the one album I had by them (Metal of Honor) and was surprised by how well I remembered it.  But a few snags in my trip to Sayreville (like the impossibly long time it too me to get ear plugs at Shop Rite), got me there with only three songs left in TT Quick’s set.

They were LOUD (so glad I bought the ear plugs), and singer * (who is now singing with Accept) was in good form.  Although when they closed with the song “Metal of Honor” there was no way he was hitting those high notes.

TT Quick is pretty different from King’s X, so I’m not entirely sure how much overlap there was in fans.  But when TT Quick left I got up to about 4 people from the stage (could have easily gotten closer, but I’m not a pusher).  The most shocking thing to me was the man who had his 4 year old son there with him (I offered the guy ear plugs, but he said he had them already).  The kid was a trooper (considering King’s X went on at nearly 11PM.  He lasted a few songs on his dad’s shoulders (right in front of me, grrr), but then crashed about midway through the set.  (which gave me a great view).

But enough about that.  What about the band?  They were awesome! (more…)

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The Figaro Plays: The Marriage of Figaro (McCarter Theatre, Princeton NJ, May 2, 2014)

Posted in Adam Green, Funny (ha ha), Gioachino Rossini, McCarter Theatre, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, Princeton, NJ, Romance, Set in New Jersey!, Stephen Wadsworth, The Barber of Seville, The Figaro Plays, Translation, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on May 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 2, 2014] The Figaro Plays: The Marriage of Figaro

marriageAfter last night’s unexpectedly hilarious Barber of Seville, my expectations were much higher for The Marriage of Figaro.

For a brief explanation of these plays, see yesterday’s post.

The Marriage of Figaro is set three years after The Barber of Seville.  [It must be said that the promotional material said they could be seen in any order, but a lot from Barber is referenced in Marriage and since it is set three years later, it really does behoove you to see Barber first].  The situation is interesting: Count Almaviva and Rosine are still married, although the Count is sleeping around and the Countess is despondent (so much for that rush of first love).  But the main plot concerns Figaro.

Figaro is living with them (as Almaviva’s right hand man) and is set to marry the Countess’ Lady in Waiting, Suzanne.  Figaro is gloriously happy, as is Suzanne.  And they cannot wait to get married.  So, unlike the previous play, there are no shenanigans trying to get them together behind the back of someone else.  The shenanigans are of a slightly different sort.

For Suzanne reveals to Figaro that the reason the Count has given them this glorious space in the chateau–which is but mere feet away from the Count’s private room–is that he plans to deflower Suzanne on the night of her wedding to Figaro.  This was, apparently, the Count’s privilege at the time.  Although Count Almaviva ended that policy when he married Rosine.  But he seems ready to reinstate it now.

Figaro doesn’t believe it at first, but is soon convinced.  The Count wants to meet Rosine in the garden on her wedding night.  And so she and Figaro (with the help of Rosine) decide to hatch a plot.  And that’s just one of many plots in this sequel which is much more complicated, has a much bigger cast and pushes three hours in length. (more…)

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The Figaro Plays: The Barber of Seville (McCarter Theatre, Princeton NJ, May 1, 2014)

Posted in Funny (ha ha), Gioachino Rossini, McCarter Theatre, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, Princeton, NJ, Romance, Set in New Jersey!, Stephen Wadsworth, The Barber of Seville, The Figaro Plays, Translation, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on May 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 1, 2014] The Figaro Plays: The Barber of Seville

barber2I won tickets to see The Figaro Plays at McCarter Theater.  And yes, there are two different plays going on at the same time. I have to say, I’m super impressed that they put on two Figaro plays on alternating days starring many of the same actors—how complicated must that be?

The Figaro Plays are, well, I’ll let the McCarter site, explain:

Stephen Wadsworth makes his triumphant return to McCarter Theatre with The Figaro Plays, two thrilling new translations of the great farces that inspired Mozart and Rossini’s operas: The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville…. Wadsworth brings his genius to these two delightfully scathing social satires. Figaro, the famous barber, has his hands full with schemes, plots, and a master who chases all the wrong women. Lush, lively, and a little bit naughty, these plays are chock-full of hilarious misunderstandings, passion, disguises, and sumptuous period costumes.

The plays were written by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, um …who? He wrote three plays about Figaro and Count Almaviva: Le Barbier de Séville, Le Mariage de Figaro, and La Mère coupable.  And so Wadsworth translated, arranged and directed two (I don’t know if the third one was too much to do or not very good or what–according to Wikipedia, it is rarely performed, and the synopsis doesn’t sound great)

So you have certainly heard of these two The Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution (written in 1773) was turned into Gioachino Rossini’s opera, The Barber of Seville (1816).  The Marriage of Figaro (written in 1778) was turned into the opera Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata (The Marriage of Figaro, or The Day of Madness), K. 492, composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,

So that’s a lot of background information, and I knew none of it before seeing this first play.  I wasn’t even sure if there would be music or not.  So no, they were not the operas, indeed, Barber has no music (well, one love song strummed on a guitar).

And it was hilarious. (more…)

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Black 47 (Berlind Theatre, Princeton, NJ, April 4, 2014)

Posted in Beer, Berlind Theatre, Black 47, Funny (ha ha), Irish Writer, Princeton, NJ, Set in New Jersey! on April 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 4, 2014] Black 47

b47logo I was a fan of Black 47 when they first came out (even though my Irish friends dismissed them out of hand.  What with the “Bridie!” and the “Fiddlee diddlee deidely dee!” and, yeah, Larry Kirwan’s voice, they were just too much for actual Irishmen.  But Irish-Americans loved them.  And now 25 years after they burst onto the scene with “Funky Cieli,” they are calling it quits.

As far as I can tell Kirwan is the only original member left in the band (I’m not inclined to do the research on that).  Actually, I didn’t even realize they were still together.  But they have been releasing albums over the years–some of which have been lauded and other not so much.  (Kirwan has also published some books and is a host on Sirius FM).  They have a brand new going-away album called Last Call, and if the live versions of the songs were any indication, they sound quite good.  And Kirwan is just as political as ever: “If you’re Irish you have to be political.”

I actually saw Black 47 back in, oh, 1993.  I remembered the show, but had misremembered the venue.  It wasn’t a concert, it was a small club in Allston, Mass.  I don’t seem to have any photos.  The bar was packed, I could barely see the band, and I’m not even sure if the people there were there to see the band.  I don’t even know if there was a cover charge.  So it only seems fitting that this concert, one of their last on their farewell tour, should also be free.  As part of the Princeton University’s Fund for Irish Studies, the band played a free 90 minute set in the tiny Berlind Theater.

I have seen a few theater shows there, so I was a little surprised that the sound wasn’t great (well, mostly Kirwan’s lyrics were hard to understand, but that may be a common problem for him), but my seat was great–a few rows back in dead center. (more…)

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Cirque Éloize: Cirkopolis (McCarter Theatre, Princeton NJ, March 9, 2014)

Posted in Acrobats, Brazil, Charlie Chaplin, Cirque Éloize, McCarter Theatre, Metropolis, Peking Acrobats, Princeton, NJ, Set in New Jersey! on March 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 9, 2014] Cirque Éloize: Cirkopolis

cirkopolosI was a little concerned that we might be circused and acrobatted out when I got us tickets for Cirque Éloize.  But I’m really glad I got them.

What I have learned about circuses, cirques, and acrobats is that there are basically a half dozen things you can do: gymnastics on ropes, gymnastics on poles, contortions, juggling, wheels and balance.  So, when you see a new act, it’s unlikely you’ll get much variation on these essential skills.  The big difference comes in presentation.  And while the Chinese Acrobats do wonderful presentation, they had nothing on Cirque Éloize for overall presentation, stage set up and storytelling.

The first thing you hear as the lights dim is loud industrial noises (the music was a little too loud, I felt, but it really showed the sense of oppression they were trying to convey).  The din grew louder and louder until the curtain rose and we saw a man sitting at a desk stamping papers rhythmically.  He finishes his work and more papers come. More and more (with simple comic touches and sound effects).  He is dressed in drab grays as is every other person, including the women–suits, raincoats, all in drab gray.  They start moving around en masse, doing some simple but interesting footwork as the music grows more tense.  Our worker drone is swept up by the conforming masses.  And then a video backdrop appears with gears and dark buildings.  It zooms in on a scene as the first act begins–one where people start climbing all over his desk and jumping off. You get a feeling of Metropolis, or Brazil or even Charlie Chaplin films–and the zooming nature really makes it feel like you are soaring along.

What amazed about this sequence initially was their dress–you’re used to seeing acrobats in sleek outfits but these folks were in suits.  And they started doing acrobatic stuff–but more of a mix of dance and acrobatics than simple feats of strength and agility.  The most impressive part was when one of them men simple grabbed another man by the hands and essentially hurled him, upright, onto his own shoulders.  There were amazing displays of this kind of strength and balance–nothing slow and subtle, just pop, there he is.  And yet all the while other people are doing things behind him which are also amazing to watch. (more…)

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