Posts by Luke Sacks

Thursday night is a good one musically for the late-night talk shows. You can catch a repeat of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts on Letterman at 11:35PM, Spoon on Jimmy Kimmel at 12:05AM & She & Him on Carson Daly at 1:35AM. Monday, April 12 The Killers: Live from Royal Albert Hall [Palladia 10AM] Classic […]

The sweet sounds of Zooey Deschanel and M Ward’s She & Him can be found on the Jimmy Kimmel Show tonight with the pair fresh off their recent tour. The band will play two shows in California – Pomona and Coachella – before heading to Europe in late April. If you don’t like their retro-pop […]

She & Him @ Bowery Ballrom – March 29

The dreary rain that swept across NYC on Monday seemed the perfect precursor to the first of She & Him’s two sold out gigs at the cozy Bowery Ballroom. While their music isn’t necessarily reflective of a rainy day, their mellow mood approach is the perfect elixir after sloshing around in puddles.

It was also especially appropriate for me since the last time I saw She & Him was at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival after a torrential downpour.

The duo, comprised of actress Zooey Deschanel and singer/songwriter/Monster of Folk M Ward, recently released their second retro-pop offering, Volume Two, two years after Volume One arrived on the scene and established them as one of the music scene’s most unique acts.

Accompanied by four other solid musicians, including a pair of talented singers crushing the backing vocals in the best possible all way all night, Ward and Deschanel put on an almost mystical performance in front of a packed house at Bowery from the openings notes of Riding in My Car to the final notes of Sweet Darlin’. READ ON for more from Luke on She & Him…

Ashes of American Flags, Wilco’s visually and musically stunning first-ever concert film will air on Monday at 10AM on Sundance. The film follows Jeff Tweedy and company from Tulsa to Washington, DC as they embarked on their 2008 US Tour. Directors Christoph Green and former Fugazi drummer Brandon Canty do a great job of capturing […]

The music and career of Joan Jett has seen a renaissance of sorts with the release of  The Runaways, a film about her landmark first group. Joan continues to rock out in the ’10s with the Blackhearts as you can see for yourself when they perform on Letterman this Wednesday. Monday, March 22 Jay-Z: Takeover […]

ABBA, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, The Hollies and The Stooges will take their place among Rock Royalty tonight starting at 8:30PM as Fuse airs all the action live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the swanky Waldorf Astoria in NYC. The inducters will be: Barry Gibb for ABBA, Wyclef Jean for […]

The BIO network offers a quintuple shot of juicy musical profiles on Thursday with in-depth looks at Buddy Holly (2pm), David Crosby (3pm), The Rolling Stones (8pm), Fleetwood Mac (9pm) and Aerosmith (10pm). There should be no shortage of drama and great music in any of these profiles. Tuesday, March 9 R.E.M.: MTV Live [Palladia 5PM] […]

Galactic makes a rare appearance on network television this Thursday, when the New Orleans funksters visit ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. According to Jambands.com, Galactic will perform Bacchus with legendary soul singer Allen Toussaint and Heart of Steel with Cyril Neville. Monday, March 1 Black Crowes: Unplugged [Palladia 10AM] Coldplay: Storytellers [Palladia Noon] R.E.M.: This is […]

If you are a Phish fan you probably know by now that Trey Anastasio will be inducting Genesis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15. So what better time to brush up on the history of the band even though it will likely perform without Peter Gabriel at the ceremony? Check […]

Anyone that watched Scrubs knows that Zach Braff has good taste in music. Artists like Martin Sexton, The Shins and Colin Hay were featured prominently on the show. So it should come as no surprise that Garden State (Thursday, 4:45pm, IFC), written and directed by Braff, relies heavily on the soundtrack to help move the […]

Stuart Copeland moved from behind the drums to behind the camera for a first-account look at life in one of the biggest rock bands on the planet in The Police – Everyone Stares (Thursday @ Noon, Ovation). The footage was pulled from over 50 hours of tape recorded by Copeland at the pinnacle of the band’s success […]

Shot during his first-ever tour of Europe, Marvin Gaye’s Greatest Hits Live in ’76 (Wednesday, 11PM – Ovation) features some of the R&B legend’s greatest songs including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, I Heard It Through The Grapevine and What’s Going On, performed in Amsterdam. Monday, February 8 (All times ET) Eric Clapton: Standing at the Crossroads [Ovation Noon] […]

One of the greatest rock albums of all time is the focus of Classic Albums when the series takes a look at The Who’s Who’s Next (Tuesday, 5PM – VH1 Classic). Learn how Pete Townshend’s Lifehouse project evolved into this masterpiece…and of course the story behind the controversial cover that showed the quartet taking a […]

Get your studded gloves out and put your best sneer on for Biography’s profile of Billy Idol on Thursday at 11PM. From the creepy White Wedding video to his motorcycle accident to his cameo in The Wedding Singer, Idol certainly has had a long and unique career and is worthy of closer look. Monday, January 25 […]

With the late night war at NBC coming to a head (or more accurately, chin), the week of January 18-22 will most likely be Conan O’Brien’s last on the air at the Peacock. Keep an eye out for special guests – musical and otherwise – to wrap up Conan’s all-too-brief stint as host of The Tonight Show. […]

VH1 Classic shows ZZ Top’s best concert film, Live in Texas, on Wednesday afternoon at 5:30PM. Filmed in 2008, Live in Texas features most of the band’s greatest hits including La Grange, Tush and Sharped Dressed Man. Monday, January 11 Tina Turner: Live in  Holland [Palladia Noon] Woodstock: Three Days of Peace and Music [Palladia […]

Charles Barkley acts about as well as Lorne Michaels dunks so this week’s Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30PM) should have plenty of cringe-worthy moments. But musically, the show should fare much better with the talented Alicia Keys performing. Friday, January 8: Elvis Presley: Return to Tupelo [BIO 2PM] Pink Floyd: Which Ones Pink? [VH1 Classic […]

Wilco had those of us on the east coast worried we wouldn’t get any love this year when they announced some random midwest dates, a full-blown tour of Canada and nine shows combined in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. But Jeff Tweedy and company are not ignoring the Northeast in 2010 as they just announced […]

Elvis Costello does an outstanding job with his weekly Sundance show Spectacle. But this week, the tables will turn on the host when actress Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds, The West Wing) interviews Costello about his career and life. Check out the unique episode on Wednesday at 10PM. Monday, January 4 Michael Jackson: Devotion [Fuse 5PM] Gnarls […]

If you aren’t quite up for ringing in 2010 watching Jennifer Lopez perform on Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin Eve (ABC 10PM), which is hosted by Ryan Seacrest, check out VH1 Classic at Midnight for Rush in Rio. Shot at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro during the final concert on the Vapor Trails Tour, […]