The Antlers’ evident enjoyment in playing to European crowds was certainly reciprocated by an equally fervent group of fans. It’s safe to say that The Antlers are welcome back to the Nouveau Casino at anytime as long as they continue to put on softly-layered and great sounding live performances.
Coming out in a red-hot Porter Wagoner-styled ensemble, upon spying cameras in the hands of a few, he coaxed them into taking as many photos as they wanted: “I didn’t put this suit on for nothing”, he quipped. He would make a disco ball-like re-entrance for the encore in a mini-mirror-plated suit shooting bolts of reflected light throughout the intimate theatre. Getting everyone in a good-time mood, his opening repertoire included “Beautiful Homes”, “Dancing”, “Somebody’s Crying” and “I Want Your Love” which had Yatovitz doing his “dance of love”. “If you enjoy him, you can take him home,” deadpanned Isaak.
The heart monitor flatline in the opening of undun is more than an just an entry, it’s an exit and ending to a life that belonged to Redford Stephens, the poor-decisions-dictated-the-unfortunate-outcome-of-life type of identifiable character that The Roots’ 13th album is centered about. In this detailed introduction, the reverse whirlwind that shifts from the piercing first note into the ghostly organ-driven lines leads up to a man’s final breath of air in a fast-paced adrenaline rush.
The Beach Boys very well could have been the American equivalent of The Beatles had they found a way to be more steady and work well with each other. However, the set also reveals the band’s influence on the general rock and roll scene more profoundly than ever, while also unleashing potential for much more.
If anything, seeing Rogers perform is a testament of the power of music – a well-written song can be as necessary to life as water and oxygen.
NFG are touring in support of their new album titled Radio Surgery, as they performed the self titled new single as well as “All Downhill from Here,” “ Hit or Miss,” “ Head on Collision,” “ Kiss Me,” “ Something I Call Personality” and other fan favorites. The show was more passionate during the encore where they played “Basket Case” (Green Day) “ Blitzkrieg Bop” (The Ramones) and their own “My Friends Over You.” During the last song Pundnik jumped off of the stage and was mobbed by fans until he grabbed a random beer off of a window ledge took a swig. A good party was had by all.
Nick Brown, lead singer and guitarist of the Nashville-by-way-of-Ohio-based rock group Mona, hasn’t broken a string in six months, but this evening at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia he’s already broken two in back to back songs; it doesn’t seem to bother him the least. There’s an edge to Mona’s sound and band complexion, greatly elevated by Brown’s attitude and energy, comparable to The Clash’s Joe Strummer with a faint similarity in the style made public more recently by the Kings of Leon.
Throughout his enviable career, Chris Cornell has always enjoyed taking his music in different directions. Whether blazing the trail for the grunge movement with Soundgarden, fronting rock supergroup Audioslave or releasing solo albums, Cornell was always experimenting with his artistic expression. Though at times his experiments failed, such as his ill-conceived collaboration with Timbaland, even at his worst Cornell’s music had one nugget of redemption: that voice.
Based on the range of material included in Songs From the South Vol. 1&2, not to mention the uniformly brilliant production throughout the two discs, it’s deeply confounding to consider that Paul Kelly remains sadly unknown outside his homeland of Australia. “”Before Too Long” and “”Look So Fine, Feel So Low” suggest how fully-formed he was as a writer and performer when he began recording. Then as now, he and his work transcend easy categorization or comparisons.
The guitar rock world lost a heavyweight earlier this year when British blues rocker Gary Moore died in early February. However, the Irish axeman made sure that the last gig he was to give – at the acclaimed Montreaux Jazz Festival last year – was a goodie
