Peter Wolf Brings A Cure For Loneliness To City Winery – September 8th, 2016 Also September 9th & tonight (September 10th) Peter Wolf’s A Cure For Loneliness is one of my favorite albums of 2016 and he is the kind of performer who I want to see regardless of the […]
Live Music
503 posts
As it always is with that most exciting of trios, it was my pleasure to take in the Soulive show a few weeks as part of the Louis Armstrong Wonderful World Festival at Flushing Meadows Park. At that time, Eric Krasno revealed in an interview that he has a Central […]
Stanley Jordan Wows Iridium – August 25th & 26, 2016 Stanley Jordan used to love to sit in with Les Paul at Iridium on Monday nights and he regards the venue as his home in New York. The artist has a long history at the club and added a few […]
Al Di Meola Lets It Rip At BB Kings – (8-23) & 8-24-16 While his fellow New Jerseyan Bruce Springsteen was setting up shop about ten miles away on the other side of the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers, Al Di Meola brought his Elegant Gypsy Romantic Warrior Electric Tour to […]
Springsteen Reaches New Heights (& Lengths) In Jersey (8-23-16) 8-25-16 & Tonight at Metlife Stadium. “I want to hear that satisfied sound!” – Bruce speaking to the audience at approximately the 3 hour, 50 minute mark of Thursday’s show shortly after refreshing himself by squeezing a sponge over his head. […]
Jill Scott Owns Apollo Debut After Earning It – August 9, 2016 Jill Scott is absolutely radiant these days. She’s killing it on stage with an amazing band as she emphatically showed at New York City’s most historic uptown theater. In the acting domain, she’s the #1 Lady at the […]
Eric Burdon Hits The Mark At City Winery – August 8, 2016 “If you want to find the truth in life, don’t pass music by. You know, you know…I would not lie!” -Eric Burdon from Monterey, 1967 I was a little intimidated to meet Eric Burdon whose voice is nothing […]
Ageless Paul McCartney Conquers MetLife Stadium – August 7, 2016 Paul McCartney puts on a phenomenal show by any standard. The fact that the brilliant artist is doing what he doing at age 74 only adds another level of awe. It was the setlist of doom; 38 songs in all. […]
Garbage Hits Summerstage In Central Park – August 1, 2016 touring behind the new album Strange Little Birds… As I mentioned to Shirley Manson as I was clipping a microphone on her garment last Monday evening, I read an interview with her in the mid 90s in which she was […]
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down In Town Tonight – August 4, 2016 When I spoke with Thao on a lovely afternoon in Austin during SXSX in March, she said that the new record A Man Alive was a much more personal album than she and the band had […]
Femi Kuti Brings Positive Force To Prospect Park – July 23, 2016 Swirling, intoxicating polyrhythms emanated from Prospect Park on Saturday night. Undeterred by the wicked New York City heatwave that’s been torching the five boroughs of late, fans of Femi Kuti packed the band shell for a free show […]
Wonderful World With Dr. John, Soulive, Kermit Ruffins – July 16, 2016 Flushing Meadows Park was the venue for the third annual Louis Armstrong Wonderful World Festival. It was a day to appreciate not only Armstrong’s legacy but the rich musical tradition of his home city New Orleans. Both Kermit […]
Michael Franti & Spearhead Lively Up Times Square at the Playstation Theater – July 15, 2016 Michael Franti has a great attitude; he emanates positivity. Â His live shows are love-ins. That was especially true last week Friday at the Playstation Theater in Times Square as a second stage was set […]
So I collect my cash then slide, I got my back, my gun’s on my side… It shouldn’t have to be like that, I guess it ain’t where you’re from it’s where you’re at – Eric B & Rakim from In The Ghetto off Paid In Full Rakim’s Paid In […]
The Roots Got Lowdown Last Night; Free Festival Continues Tonight July 13, 2016 A genius double bill last night at The Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival with Antibalas and The Roots. Tonight, the free fest continues with Rayland Baxter, Valerie June, and Drive-By Truckers!
Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood Do Yankee Stadium – July 8th and 9th, 2016 The first country music concert ever at Yankee Stadium happened on Friday night followed by the second one the following evening. These were the first shows for Garth Brooks since the freebie in Central Park that […]
James Carter Organ Trio: Django Unchained – July 2, 2016 James Carter honked, squawked, squeaked, and whistled his way through an exciting and entertaining set on Saturday night as part of the 37th annual Montreal Jazzfest. He even did a bit where he produced sound from a sax without putting […]
Montreal Jazzfest ’16: Stacey Kent – July 3, 2016 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal is a honking good time! As for the talent, the ten day hootenanny draws an embarrassment of riches. For the fans, whether they be native Quebecois or the quarter of a million or so visitors […]
“Somewhere between long awaited and well overdue” was how Dave Wakeling described the status of a new English Beat record when I spoke to him during a recent visit to New York City. Dave and the rest of the band are back in town for a show this week at […]
Public Enemy Does Brownsville Freebie 6-21-16 There’s no one who is more important from what’s come to be known as the golden age of hip hop than Public Enemy. Last Tuesday evening Betsy Head Park in Brownsville was the place to be as Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and Professor Grif […]
Wolf Parade Light Fuse On 2016 Northside Festival; June 9, 2016 After Wolf Parade’s sound check on a gorgeous afternoon at Brooklyn’s McCarren Park, Dan Boeckner clipped on a microphone and spoke about this band‘s wildly triumphant comeback. “I underestimated what this band meant to people while we were active.” […]
CeeLo Parties Aboard Circle Line In New York Harbor; June 7, 2016 A hootenanny with CeeLo on a boat was a brilliant way to usher in the summer of ’16! It was a beautiful night to take in the skyline views and shake bones to the sounds of the Atlanta […]
It was a no-brainer to take a road trip up to Syracuse when I learned I’d have an opportunity to sit down with none other than Ringo Starr! The occasion was the first gig of a tour by the All Starr Band featuring Steve Lukather and Todd Rundgren on guitars, […]
John Scofield is a guitar virtuoso. He can make his guitar, seemingly, do anything he wants short or having it buy a round of drinks. Brad Mehldau is a keyboard virtuoso. No appreciable space exists between sounds in his head (I imagine) and the sounds that emanate from his piano […]
Sunflower Bean at Flamingo Cantina in Austin for SXSW 3-16-16 & coming to House Of Vans as part of the annual Brooklyn hootenanny known as the Northside Festival on Thursday 6-9-16 Love the Bean! The Wednesday afternoon performance that you get a taste of in the accompanying video was a […]