Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob

Life & Music in New York, My City

Archive for October, 2012

This Must Be The Place w/David Byrne & St Vincent

Posted by xneverwherex on October 16, 2012

David Byrne & St. Vincent
(Love This Giant)
Orpheum Theatre
October 15, 2012

Somewhere between The Lion King, The King and I and anything else with King (according to David Byrne) is this show. The Orpheum Theater was nice enough to squeeze in a non-show between it all. And I could only be so lucky to see more shows performed there.

The Orpheum Theatre is a really beautiful theater with exquisite views. I have a feeling that whereever you are seated, you will have a great sightline. I was in the mezzanine and for once I was happy I wasnt in the orchestra. To watch all of the moves and see every last thing was worth it.

David announced from the beginning that the use of cell phones, cameras, videos, etc were definitely ok. He didn’t seem to mind anything, but said we might want to enjoy it without a black box in front of us. He was definitely right. The crowd, for the most part, rarely used their phones/cameras – sneaking it out once in a while to get a picture or two. And what a crowd it was. A respectful crowd that was beyond appreciative and beyond excited.

Finally, around 8:15 David Byrne comes out with St. Vincent (Annie Clark). Him sporting a white/black suit and her in a blue dress that might have been 2 separate pieces. They both looked great. The band, a 10 piece brass orchestra, also was sporting black/white attire. The band is more or less led by Kelly Pratt of Bright Moments, a Brooklyn band. He has also played with Beirut, Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem. The entire orchestra was comprised of members of other Brooklyn bands. Most notably was a trumpet player from Yellow Ostrich.

David Byrne/St Vincent

The show itself was simply awesome and beautiful. The songs off of ‘Love This Giant’ sounded great, even better than what I had heard streaming. The stark dance moves mostly seemed robotic. It was clearly choreographed and most times the band members were nearly stalking their prey (David and Annie). They would move around them, the horns blaring into their faces, as they circled them and taunted them. It was like being in the jungle as the performers all had their own moves. At times, Annie would lean against one of the guys and go to work like a mad scientist on her guitar. It was raw and it was passionate.

A lot of the songs were performed with either Annie or David at the mic. The other almost disappearing into the background, but then they’d join the other, and as quickly retreat. This really got to showcase all of their talents. He is the perfect frontman and great leader. He took the band from song to song. The highlight (not speaking of all the covers!), was ‘Cheerleader’. The band, save for Annie and Rachel (another band member), was lying on the floor and soon were playing their instruments lying on their backs. It was pretty incredible watching these trumpeters play on their back. They slowly got up and the whole piece was extraordinary. Annie’s vocals were nothing short of impressive. ‘The Forest Awakes’ also showcased Annie’s talents and her smoky, raw vocals sounding almost like she should be in a burlesque bar. Its hard to not be captivated by her.

I was never a huge St Vincent fan, and I had seen her a bunch of times, but in this she was perfect. She was robotic, spastic, her moves not quite polished. She was shaky, with a nervous energy the way she moved and it worked out perfectly. Her own songs had never sounded better with the backing band. Her guitar playing not as overly aggressive as can be.

And of course, David Byrne. Having never seen him perform before, I wasnt sure what to expect. But he delivers. With his shocking head of white hair, he is an entertainer. He’s talkative, funny and clearly having a great time. And it was great that there were some Talking Heads songs sprinkled in. ‘This Must be the Place’ is a really catchy Talking Heads song and got the crowd singing along. A girl in front of me started dancing with reckless abandonment. It started something, because when St Vincent played her solo songs, 2 guys started dancing clearly enjoying every moment of Annie’s voice.

All in all it was a great set. It was great to hear Annie talk about first hearing The Talking Heads in ‘Revenge of the Nerds’. As she said ‘the best song placement ever’, when referring to ‘Burning Down the House’. She also talked about an aunt/uncle in the audience who helped her become who she is and getting her into music. You could see the show meant a lot to her.

The band had 2 encores and the crowd never let up. Enthusiastic till the very end. Dancing throughout the theater and everyone having a good time. And a congo line for ‘Road to Nowhere’… seemed way too fitting as they closed out the set.

Set List:
Who
Weekend in the Dust
Save Me from What I Want (St Vincent)
Strange Overtones (David Byrne)
I Am an Ape
Marrow (St Vincent)
This Must be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads)
The Forest Awakes
Optimist
Like Humans Do (David Byrne)
Lightning
Lazarus
Cheerleader (St Vincent)
Lazy (David Byrne)
I Should Watch TV
Northern Lights (St Vincent)
The One Who Broke Your Heart
Outside of Space and Time

Encore:
Cruel (St Vincent)
Burning Down the House (Talking Heads)

Encore 2:
The Party (St Vincent)
Road to Nowhere (Talking Heads)

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How Does It Feel?? New Order

Posted by xneverwherex on October 10, 2012

New Order
Run Run Run
Fox Theatre
10/5/12

I was pretty lucky that I had ended up with a New Order ticket. It had sold out so quick and so many of us were unlucky. Thanks to Val’s boyfriend having to travel, it made me one lucky girl.

Friday night in Oakland was insanely busy. I can only assume that there was some sorta festival going on. There were bands on the street, djs spinning and people everywhere. Plus some sort of protest march going on. And the Fox Theatre was right in the middle of it all.

New Order

It seemed to take forever but New Order finally came out. The stage was quite dark as they started into their first song. And then BAM! The lights started going, strobes coming on and off and the beginning to what would be an insane light show the entire night. I was convinced my friend Will was their lighting designer.

Their second song, ‘Age of Consent’, really got the crowd revved up. They introduced the band via video screen. The band didnt do a whole lot of moving around, and Gillian barely left her keyboards. Bernard Sumner did some moving around and jumping around while Stephen Morris for the most part remained behind the drums. On occasion, he’d walk to the sides to play what looked to be a drum machine. There were a few other members rounding out the touring band, but couldnt remember who. It was definitely a loss to not have Peter Hook on bass.

The first half of their set was mostly songs I hadnt remembered and probably a few newer ones. It seemed I was recognizing one for every few. I was a bit disappointed. At least the seongs all had a catchy synthy beat and they were easy to get into. But then it was like all of a sudden all their most popular hits. True Faith was followed by Bizarre Love Triange, complete with the original video on the screen. The crowd went nuts with people dancing in the aisles, next to their chairs, wherever they could make room. And then they threw in ‘Perfect Kiss’ and ‘Blue Monday’. Lastly, there was ‘Temptation’. They were so great and the crowd was singing along. But then Barney was saying last song and everyone looked confused as it was barely over an hour at that point. It seemed a bit unreal. But then it happened, and the band was off the stage. It was hard to believe that after an hour and 15 minutes the show was nearly over.

New Order

New Order

Of course there was an encore. It was a short, but sweet, 2 song encore of Joy Division songs. The first was ‘Atmosphere’ and the set was closed out with ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. The songs arent quite as dark and moody as Joy Division, but still had that feel to them. Its hard to hear the songs and not imagine Ian Curtis’ voice, but its cool to be able to hear them played at all.

While I guess I had higher expectations, it didn’t totally disappoint. I heard some great songs live and they were performed with great execution. But just a few more songs would have been nice. I definitely would have loved to hear a song or two off of ‘Technique’. More of anything would have been great from a band that has countless albums and songs. C’est La Vie.

Set List:
Elegia
Crystal
Ceremony
Close Range
Age of Consent
Isolation (Joy Division Cover)
Here to Stay
Your Silent Face
Bizarre Love Triangle
586
True Faith
The Perfect Kiss
Blue Monday
Temptation

Encore:
Atmosphere
Love Will Tear Us Apart

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Go Baby Go Go – Garbage

Posted by xneverwherex on October 8, 2012

Garbage
Screaming Females
Warfield
10/1/12

Monday night women rocked the house. Shirley Manson and “the boys” brought along Marissa Paternoster and Co. (aka Screaming Females). What a fearsome two bands it turned out to be.

It had been over 10 years since I had last seen Garbage. Somehow I had forgotten what a show it would be. Shirley came out in a long black cape like top and some awesome heeled boots. She walked around in big circles taking over the stage. She was ferocious, commanding attention.

Garbage

She started out the set with a charged up ‘Supervixen’ and then went straight to ‘I Think Im Paranoid’. It was an awesome start to the show and Shirley’s dance moves to Paranoid were spot on. The crowd was excited with lots of fists pumping in the air, lots of ridiculous bright red hair wigs and the like. About 30 mins into the set, Shirley stops by Butch Vig to change her shoes and put on way more comfy flats. She ran around, did even more funky dance moves – robot moves were just awesome – and was having a great time.

It was even a more special night for Shirley as the last time her mom saw Garbage perform live was at The Warfield. There were also a few more tributes for other people that had passed away and a really heartfelt one to Christopher, whose daughters were at the show. It was definitely moving and she played ‘Special’ for them, which had never sounded better. You could see that it meant a lot to her and and the band.

The band played a solid 2 hour set that just flew by. I had forgotten how many hit songs they had. #1 Crush, Only Happy When it Rains, Queer, Stupid Girl, etc. Eric Avery (Of Janes Addiction), who looks to be having a great time on tour with the band, veoted Shirley’s idea of a crowd picking the song. It was a competition of a ‘favorite’ or a ‘new’ song. Shirley went on about how some like risks and it was quite cute till Eric decided theyd play the new song. It worked out well, I think most appreciated hearing a new song. Shirley also mentioned a story about how one of the songs was about losing her virginity, but it was always assumed to be about something else. For what its worth, it wasnt good.

Screaming Females

As mentioned earlier, Screaming Females of Trenton, NJ opened the set. Many people had never heard of them and didn’t know what to expect. Marissa, in a dark dress, played the hell out of her guitar. The songs were tight, fast and short reminiscent of Nirvana. Grunge has never sounded better. The band, as always, had few words to say and made the most out of their 30 minute set. And from where I was standing, she definitely impressed a few of the guys with her amazing guitar-playing skills. She thanked Shirley and Garbage a lot and you could tell she was genuinely happy to be opening for them.

This was definitely one of the best shows of the year.

Set list:
Time Will Destroy Everything
1. Supervixen
2. I Think I’m Paranoid
3. Shut Your Mouth
4. Why Do You Love Me
5. Queer
6. Stupid Girl
7. Hammering in My Head
8. Control
9. #1 Crush
10. Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)
11. Blood For Poppies
12. Special
13. Milk
14. Battle In Me
15. Push It
16. Only Happy When It Rains
17. Vow
Encore:
18. Bad Boyfriend
19. The One
20. You Look So Fine

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