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So about a month ago I was listening to local radio when I heard that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would be making their way through town. I immediately rushed to the ticketmaster website, and then to all the local (largish) venues to try and find show/ticket information. Nada, nothing, zilch. No one had any information (at least not the usual suspects) and I was left in the dark. A few weeks later I found out it was not a “regular” show and it was not at a place where I would have ever expected. Turns out it was a private show sponsored by Jack Daniels and tickets had to be won and were not for sale. I tried my hardest the week before the show, listening to the radio, working my connections, trying desperately to get some tix to see BRMC do their thing live. Once again, nada, nothing, zilch. In an act of desperation the night before the show, I logged onto the dreaded MySpace for the first time in about 5 months and reduced myself to begging for tix via a MySpace message. Much to my delight and surprise I got a reply from Dan (who shall now be referred to as Dan the Hero) who put in contact with tour manager Grant (who shall now be referred to as Grant the Savior). A round of blackberry-tag later, Grant confirms that I am on the guest list with a pair of tix for the show and I couldn’t be happier…. Not the safest way to score tickets, but it sure was a good fight.
The show itself was all I could have asked for. London’s own The Duke Spirit opened the show and won over a new fan. In advance of the show, local radio had been playing a song by The Duke Spirit, and I have to admit I was not so impressed. When I got to the live show however, I was won over by how tight the band was and how strong lead-singer/new-rock-goddess Liela Moss’ voice was outside of a recording studio. It was very refreshing to see that the band outperformed their recorded material by a mile.
After the opening act, I didn’t win a BRMC -autographed guitar, but I still was excited for their set – and they didn’t disappoint. The band took to the stage and came out flying, playing two tracks from their latest LP Baby 81 in succession: 666 Conducer and Berlin. Rarely taking time to address the audience, the band instead chose to pummel us with rocker after rocker. A brief cool-down came in the form of some acoustic songs, largely from the Howl LP (Fault Line, Shuffle Your Feet), courtesy of Mr. Peter Hayes. The full band quickly switched back into rock mode and played out the set, ending with a blistering version of "Whatever Happened to My Rock & Roll (Punk Song). They also tore through a 3 song encore (Spread Your Love, Steal A Ride, and All You Do Is Talk), much to the delight of everyone in the over-stuffed house.
After the show, I was hanging out on the back patio and saw Pete Hayes mingling with the crowd. After fending off some local groupies, he ducked inside but returned shortly with his guitar. I didn’t pursue him to see what was happening, but I can only imagine groupies were being softly serenaded somewhere. Instead I chose to stay near the backstage door and have a chat with Grant the Savior, who was kind enough to put me on the list for the show & hook me up with a set-list after the show. A good conversation with some traveling road stories ensued and I made sure to let Grant the Savior know how much I appreciated the tix to a great show.
Once again, Thanks Dan the Hero for pointing me in right direction and thanks to Grant the Savior for letting me be one of the 750 people in the place that only held 600.
The Roots - Philly legends, Hip-Hop veterans, and one of my favorite musical outfits – have recently released their 10th LP, Rising Down. As is typical with a Roots release, and due in large part to their self-financed web community Okayplayer.com, there has been much internet buzz (and some snark) about the new record. And while the boards at Okayplayer are not always a reliable source, the album is also posting good numbers with all of the journalist and music reviewer types who have heard the album and chosen to write about it. Don’t have time to read all the reviews? Fortunately Metacrtic.com has already taken the time to filter, condense and metascore said reviews HERE
If you do have time to read anything though, I would suggest two recent pieces of journalistic excellence (refreshing in these cut-and-paste times). This one HERE by the folks at the NY Times explores the background of The Roots psyche as they were recording and are now promoting Rising Down. And THIS PIECE , which is referenced in the NY Times article, further explains The Roots unique position in the current music marketplace, and paints their relationship with their current label (Def Jam) in a not-so-warm-and-fuzzy light.
As for the album itself, I of course purchased it the first week of release (29 April 2008) and would highly recommend it. The tone is much the same (but perhaps even darker) than their previous effort Game Theory, and except for a few places where the hooks don’t work so well (Get Busy, Criminal) the music is pure listening satisfaction. Black Thought once again establishes himself as the best rapper alive that you haven’t heard boasting about being the best rapper alive, and bandleader (and timekeeper) ?uestlove guides the band through some of the most banging beats the roots have ever produced. This record could quite possibly provide the soundtrack to your summer, if only you give it a chance.
If bonus content is your thing, forego buying the record in stores and head on over to iTunes where purchasers get 1) the satisfaction of actually paying for music and helping to support the struggling music industry and larger economy, 2) the iTunes album-only bonus track “Birthday Girl” featuring Patrick Stumpf of Fall Out Boy, and 3) Detailed song-by-song, blow-by-blow liner notes written by ?uestlove himself, delivered to you in .pdf format, and not available in the physical CD booklet (more on that maneuver if I find the time)
Comments
hey man,
nice post. i'm really digging this record. hope it sells well so they don't get booted off of def jam.
if the roots can't sell, we live in a screwed up world.
new erykah badu is pretty sweet too.
G. Love and Special Sauce have now been doing it for over a decade, and they only get better with age. They rolled into Columbus OH on MLK day and provided their own brand of hip-hop-blues-funk for what looked like a sold out crowd. The highlight of the show for me though happened before the show when I bumped into G at a local eating establishment. He was cool and hooked us up with backstage passes. As for the show itself... awesome as usual. The band was the tightest I've ever heard them, and the addition of a full-time keyboard player really rounds out (and fattens) their live sound. The setlist provided a good mix of classic G. Love (Blues Music, Cold Beverage, Rodeo Clowns) as well as a good selection of songs from their latest record, Lemonade (Can't Go Back to Jersey, Holla!, Rainbow). Throw in some Freestyles, Hip-Hop (Gin & Juice) and Classic Rock (Beatles, Lou Reed)tags, and you've got the recipe for a good night of G. Love and Special Sauce. The current tour runs through the U.S. until Spring - after which GLASS will hit up Australia & Europe (with label boss Jack Johnson) - be sure to catch a show near you.
MOG Meter
Comments
way to persevere on getting to the show
caught these guys back in '02 and I'm hoping to see them this summer at Virgin Festival