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Archive for the ‘Cities’ Category

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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Camelot (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, May 3, 2015)

Posted in Camelot, King Arthur, New Brunswick, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre, Theater on May 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 3, 2015] Camelot

camelot2I have been raving about every show that I’ve seen lately, so it’s really about time that I wasn’t head over heels by something, right?

Sarah and her mom love Camelot, the musical–Sarah grew up listening to it.  When I saw that it was being staged at The State Theater, it seemed like a great Mother’s Day present for both of them.  Well, a last minute change of plans meant that Sarah’s mom couldn’t go. So we took Tabitha, who enjoyed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

I don’t know the Camelot story at all, in fact, despite my (what I assumed was good) knowledge of King Arthur, I was not aware of the love triangle with him Guinevere and Lancelot (I guess I just liked the fighting). I also had no idea that Arthur was trying to set up a law by court rather than a law by might.  Which is pretty interesting.  Sarah said I should read The Once and Future King which the musical is mostly based on.

The set was fascinating.  Gigantic metal “waves” on the right side that represented a forest and/or a tree and/or other things dominated the scene.  The left side of the stage had various set that dropped from the rafters–a kingly backdrop, a bed, and other items. (more…)

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Guster (The Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, April 24, 2015 )

Posted in Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds, Guster, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts, Tori Amos on April 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 24, 2015] Guster

2015-04-24 23.01.50I’ve seen Guster a few times as openers (Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Barenaked Ladies) but never as the headliner.  And it was amazing how different the band was for this show–in which the crowd was totally there for them.

Singer Ryan Miller commented on how they haven’t played the Theatre of Living Arts in  a long time–and that the fans were with them on the way up and now again on their way down (it’s unclear if he was serious or not).  The band’s “stage design” for this tour was afghans.  As you can see in the pictures, the band has afghans draped all over everything.  Ryan said that the band’s fans supplied them with all of the afghans.  They decided to totally embrace the theme and even put an afghan on one of co-singer Adam Gardner’s guitar.  I did not get a good photo of it, but there’s a great photo on Instagram of it.

Midway through the show the band mentioned that they’d been together for 24 years.  Which is pretty impressive.  The three main guys (Ryan, Adam and “Thundergod” Brian Rosenworcel on bongoes and other drums (most of which he plays with no sticks–seriously, he smashes drums and cymbals with his hands–ouch)) are sill there.  For touring they’ve added an instrumentalist Luke Reynolds and a friend of the band on drums and percussion for some songs. (more…)

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Kishi Bashi (The Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, April 24, 2015 ) [GUSTER]

Posted in Guster, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts on April 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED, April 24, 2015] Kishi Bashi

2015-04-24 20.11.02This is our second time seeing Kishi Bashi in about a year.  As Sarah said, I’m really glad we saw him in the State Theater first because in that venue, you could really see what he was doing with his feet and his other gear (well, and the sound was better).  But it was so much fun seeing him in this venue because the show was very different.

But still it was just him and his violin (and a bunch of looping pedals) and, man, is his good.

Whether it was the lack of seats or just more confidence on stage, K. was a more wild performer.  At this venue we stood one the floor (and marveled at how we are apparently very short).  We could see his head and torso (bow tie and leather vest) but not his feet.

He opened the show with “Atticus, in the Desert,” my favorite song of his.  He did some really fun beatboxing and sound manipulation (even commenting that one of the beats was “sick” and that he had to try to remember what he did) he improvises a lot of beats and is really good at it. (more…)

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Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre (RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, April 18, 2015)

Posted in Acrobats, Animals, Branchburg, NJ, C., Cats, Dogs, Funny (ha ha), Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre, RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey!, T. on April 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 18, 2015] Popovich Comedy Pet Theatre

popvichThis show was playing at McCarter Theater and at RVCC. It was at least $10/ticket cheaper at RVCC, so good for us!  The RVCC show was a general admission seating situation, so we got there much earlier than we normally do for shows.  Of course, so did everyone else and we wound up sitting pretty far back (I was glad that people were actually coming to an RVCC show!).

But that was okay, because we could still see all of the action and all of the pets perfectly.

Some fascinating things to note about Popovich before I even get to the show.  Despite the name, the show is not only pets.  In fact there are a lot of human clowns and acrobats and performers on stage as well.  Evidently Popovich is quite well-known and has appeared on many TV shows.  And the whole show is told as a vague kind of story.

pop tvWhen we arrived, one of the troupe was standing in the aisle with a cat on his shoulder.  T. got to pet the cat, which was sweet.  Then a man in a cool green outfit (a big flared jumpsuit) with some white face on came down the aisle eating popcorn.  He played some jokes on people in the audience and then climbed on stage.  He was a kind of warm up, doing cheesy jokes (the fingers transferring from one hand to the other joke), and then doing a bit with a balloon that he could not move.  He was a really convincing mime and that bit was great, especially when the other guy came out and tried to pull the balloon away and couldn’t.  It was all simple but when it’s done well, it’s really magical. (more…)

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Mark Mothersbaugh–Myopia (Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO) (October 30-April 26, 2015)

Posted in Booji Man, Denver, CO, Devo, Geddy Lee, Mark Mothersbaugh, Pee Wee's Playhouse, The Lego Movie, The Life Aquatic, Wes Anderson on April 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 2, 2015] Myopia.

myopiaI grew up with Devo in the background.  But I honestly never really gave them a lot of thought.  The biggest surprise for me was back in the late 80s when in a radio interview Geddy Lee said that he liked Devo quite a lot (the caller said that he saw him wearing an “Oh No It’s Devo” pin).  I have a couple albums, and I knew all about “de-evolution” but it kind of ended there.  I also knew that Mark Mothersbaugh had become the defacto composer for all the great contemporary films.  But I had no idea the extent of his creativity.

When we were visiting relatives in Denver, Sarah’s brother took us to MCA Denver for Mothersbaugh’s show Myopia.  I could have looked at the exhibits for hours (although the kids weren’t that exited by the whole thing).  The entire museum was devoted to Mothersbaugh.  There was a live video in the basement.  And as you progressed up the levels, the chronology of Mothersbaugh’s vision unfolded. (more…)

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The Decemberists (Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2015)

Posted in Alvvays, Fleetwood Mac, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA, The Academy of Music, The Decemberists on April 9, 2015| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 7, 2015] The Decemberists

2015-04-07 22.33.06I’ve liked The Decemberists for a pretty long time but never saw them live.  I’m not really sure why I never had.   Sarah has become a fan over the years as well, and they had moved to the top of her must see list.  So when I saw they were playing at the beautiful and acoustically pristine Academy of Music (and it was so close to her birthday), I jumped on the chance to get tickets.

Somehow, the pre-order tickets from the band didn’t pan out, but I was able to get some pre-order tickets from the Kimmel Center and the seats were awesome.  In a box just above floor level about fifteen or sixteen rows out.  The box was very cool, as there were wooden chairs to sit on and there were all of six of us in this box.  Probably one of the best views I’ve ever had a at a show.

2015-04-07 21.01.43The show started with Colin Meloy and his guitar.  He played the opening song from their newest album, “The Singer Addresses His Audience,” a meta- song that seems even more meta when he is actually addressing you.  The song started slowly and then the two backing vocalists came on and sang along with him.  Then some “statues” were lowered behind the stage.  And as the rest of the band came out, the “quilted” cover of the album was lowered into place

I was sure they would play a set heavy with new songs, so I was surprised when they launched right into “The Infanta,” a rollicking song that really got the crowd going.  And then Colin spoke and proved why he is such a good frontman. He was very funny, suggesting that we could sit or stand, it was up to us–the seats did look comfortable, after all.  He advised the people in the way top (where we were seated for Neil Young) to not stand, because he was worried about their safety.  And then he looked over to the side and saw the front box seats–set off from the rest and seemingly very VIP and informed us all that the Duke and Duchess of Pennsylvania were in the house tonight.   On the other side of the stage in those same seats, he told us that the royalty from Pittsburgh could not make it. (more…)

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Alvvays (The Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2015) [THE DECEMBERISTS]

Posted in Alvvays, Canadian Music, Letters to Cleo, Lush, Philadelphia, PA, The Academy of Music, The Decemberists on April 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 7, 2015] Alvvays

2015-04-07 20.23.26Canadian band Alvvays opened for The Decemberists last night.  I really like their debut album and I was pretty excited to see them.  Alvvays play a perfect update of female -fronted-90s-alt-rock that I really like (and which few bands do anymore).  There are plenty of touchstones for the kind of music they play (Letters to Cleo, Lush), and they do it perfectly–super catchy choruses, nice harmonies and simple ringing guitars.

In hindsight (after watching the headliners) it must be tough for a small band to play when the headliners have so much going on.  So the five members of Alvvays looked a little cramped on stage in their small area.  They didn’t say a lot and they barely moved around.  But they brought their A-game and ripped through their entire album (I think).

I remember thinking that their album is only about 35 minutes, so their set couldn’t be much longer than that.  It was about 30 minutes.  And, since I like the album but don’t really know song names yet, I’m not sure what they played or didn’t play (and setlist.com is no help at all).  I certainly recognized a few songs, but have no idea what order they were in.

I also had to wonder…if you are an up and coming band with a single that’s getting airplay (“Marry Me, Archie”), do you play it first and get the audience psyched to hear more, or do you save it for the end when more people have arrived.   Which they did.  And it was nice to see the crowd (who was responsive but not exactly rocking) nodding along to the song. (more…)

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Spencers: Theatre of Illusion (RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, March 28, 2015)

Posted in Branchburg, NJ, C., Illusion, Muse, RVCC Arts, Spencers: Theatre of Illusion, T., The Lost Boys on March 29, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 28, 2015] Spencers: Theatre of Illusion

Back in October of 2012 we saw Spencers: Theatre of Illusion.  I saw that they were coming around again, and even though we had seen the show, I remember enjoying it and thought it would be fun to see them again since the kids were a little older now.

I also assumed that the show would be different.  I mean, it had been nearly 2 and a half years.  Sadly, many of the magic acts were exactly the same.  But on the positive side, they were still pretty awesome, and there was a bunch of new material as well.

In my previous write up I said that the pacing was too slow.  I’m sure it wasn’t faster but it didn’t feel slow this time.  That may have been the audience–the room was full of super excited kids and there was plenty of laughter and applause–it worked very well with his leisurely storytelling style (I may have also been anxious last time since our kids were younger and I wanted them to be excited all the way though).

He started off , like last time, by doing a seemingly easy but very cool illusion of tearing today’s newspaper in half. He made some jokes about the paper and then proceeded to rip it up and then reunite the whole page.   It’s pretty cool. (more…)

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