While the merits of playing full album shows have their pros and cons, it seems as if the trend is still one that music fans are enthusiastic about. The latest
One of the longest running music festivals in the biz returns in 2011 with a power packed lineup. The 15th Annual All Good Music Festival takes place at Marvin’s Mountaintop
Deception is a tricky thing. Then again, to be deceptively simple also requires some sort of weird ethereal sleight of hand that is neither here, nor there. Ahhh…we find ourselves awash in a deluge of ersatz clichés, and that is never our intent, is it?
Of course not. So when one thinks of a basic Japanese horror film premise, circa 1977, featuring some fairly groovy music, one expects some dated piece of shit, no? Well, not exactly. And certainly not in the case of the little house of oddness we have come to investigate in this edition of Hidden Flick, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hausu.
It is important to know a few essential things about Obayashi. One, he came from an experimental film and television advertising background, meaning he was used to capturing surreal imagery in a brief moment in time, regardless of its linear clarity. Who the fuck cares about a story when you can shock someone’s psyche instead. There was the avant-garde, and then there was Obayashi. Two, he knew how to use film to make a film, which could also be a comment on the nature of Japanese ghost stories in general, the horror genre, the beckoning blockbuster mentality in the wake of the ultra-popular Jaws, and that if you went completely over-the-top with special effects done in a clever and cheap way, one may be able to get away with it if presented with style and chutzpah.
READ ON for more on this week’s Hidden Flick…
The Governor’s Ball Music Festival will take over NYC’s Governor’s Island on June 18. The initial lineup announcement came down this morning and features Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Empire of
On Sunday night in Brooklyn, Gene Ween took part in the debut of the Noncerts series. As part of Gener’s performance, he channeled Fiddler on the Roof’s Tevya as he
Nigel Hall Band @ Rockwood Music Hall, February 17
Nigel Hall moved down from Maine a year ago, and he has been very active in the New York music scene since coming to the Big Apple. As a member of the Royal Family Records musical collective that Eric Krasno spearheads, I like to think of him as Robin to Krasno’s Batman. Then again, Hall is no mere sidekick. This guy is a star on his own. And as of this week, he is now the new keyboard player in the Warren Haynes Band [version 2.0].
[All photos by Marc Millman]
So maybe it would be better to think of this growing posse of super freaks as the X-Men: Krasno as Cyclops (silent but deadly), Adam Deitch as Wolverine (crazy deadly assassin), Chris Loftlin as The Beast (a big monster with a bigger smile and heart), Nikki Glaspie as Storm (a woman to be reckoned with). And when you throw in the rest of the Lettuce/Soulive/Chapter 2 posse you have enough characters for summer blockbuster sequels to carry us into the next decade.
Since the first day of this year, I have seen Nigel sing and/or play keyboards with: George Porter, Bill Kreutzmann & Steve Kimock, Chapter 2, Lettuce with Maceo Parker and the Funky Meters. And that’s just gigs off the top of my head. But for the month of February, he has taken up a weekly residency at Rockwood Music Hall to showcase the Nigel Hall Band [actually Chapter 2 in a slight variation including two female backing vocalists]. His one-hour sets at 8PM are attracting rabid fans of classic funk and soul. But it is the soul side that is really being shown off in this intimate setting.
Sitting at the club’s grand piano, Hall leads the band, whose lineup does vary slightly week to week, through some classic soul covers, one or two originals composed by or with co-conspirators like Eric Krasno [he either plays bass in this band or guitar depending on who else shows up] and some great re-interpretations of classic rock/pop. This week’s version of the band included Chris Loftlin (bass), Adam Deitch (drums) & Krasno (guitar & backing vocals) with Mel Flannery & Tania Jones (backing vocals).
READ ON for more of Marc’s Musings on Nigel Hall…
The shows LCD Soundsystem added at Terminal 5 on March 28 – 31 go on sale this morning at 9AM via Ticketmaster. Let’s hope it’s much less of a shit
Galactic with Corey Glover and Corey Henry at the Orange Peel, Asheville, NC 2.9.11.
Ethan Gold’s debut, Songs from a Toxic Apartment, began as a 75-song epic recorded in a dilapidated apartment that was literally toxic. Though he vacated the unit when it was condemned by the health department, all of the grime, restlessness and despair remained intact in the 12 songs that made the final cut.
After months of debate and widespread rumors, Phish.com has announced the early summer dates for 2011. As expected, dates are heavy on the east coast, with stops at most of
